A Moonlit Howl
by Shadrilyx
Summary: Following Bellua Dimid, a girl at Hogwarts with a tragic past and a 'furry little problem'. The shadows of her back story can only be matched by two other fifth-years, and maybe one of them can guide her from the nightmares of her past...as long as said nightmares don't get her first. I suck at summaries. Rated T because I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! This is my first ever Fanfic...R&R would be welcome if you like it!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE HARRY POTTER UNIVERSE...unfortunately. I only own Bellua Dimid, Claire Jackson, Riley McGuire...pretty much if there's anything you recognize, it isn't mine!**

_Hurts...it hurts..._

_No, please make it stop, stop..._

_Why won't you accept me, I'm sorry I said I was sorry...?_

_No, no, make it stop...hurts, hurts, please Mummy, help me..._

_Please...the chains hurt...please..._

_"Disgusting!"_

_"Hideous!"_

_"Monster!"_

Bellua jolted awake from the nightmare in sweat-soaked sheets, gasping for breath. Despite the warmth of the room she found herself shivering. Closing her eyes for a moment to let the tears drip free, Bellua had to give herself a moment to compose herself.

_I'm not there. Not at home. I'm at Hogwarts, my first year. Think of good things...good things..._

So the fifth-year remembered the Sorting Day, only two months ago, the night she'd been introduced to Hogwarts. Yes, it was strange for someone to start any year after the first, but she was a very...special case.

_"Dimid, Bellua," The Sorting Hat called after its song and several other children's names. _

_"Hm...oh, my, you haven't had it easy, have you? My, my, this is a tricky one..." It had murmured in her ear, and for a brief moment of terror Bellua feared she wouldn't be placed anywhere. _

_"But...all things considered, I'd say GRYFFINDOR!"_

_Exhaling with relief, she'd sat with the Gryffindor house, who all pretty much stared at her. _

She'd arrived late, and things were difficult at first. Unlike everybody else, she'd had no friends from year one, and was at first a bit of an outcast. For a while she feared that no matter where she went, she'd be rejected. Everyone her year seemed to be in a clique – Claire Jackson and Riley McGuire, the Quidditch team, the first-second years and of course the infamous _Marauders._ But after she'd befriended Claire and Riley, she'd felt better. Even if they were...shallow, they were fun and bearable. Claire was clever and outright, and Riley was thoughtful and quick-thinking, and they were both far prettier than Bellua – Claire with soft blonde hair and a tanned, sharp-featured face and Riley raven-haired and fine-boned. And Lily Evans always hung out with who-knows-who, so Bellua didn't really know her. But Riles and Claire accepted her, and she fit in.

With these pleasant memories, she fell asleep quickly.

~0~

"Bells, wake up or you'll be-"

"Get away!" She cried, lashing out in her sleep and nearly catching Riley full in the face with a flailing hand. Jerking up, she inhaled deeply and sat straight up, finally awakening and gasping at Riley and Claire's stunned faces. "Oh God, I'm so sorry guys..." She trailed off awkwardly.

"S'all good," She replied, grinning despite herself. "Nightmare?"

"Uh...yeah." _Wednesday. Great. _"Out, out, need to change."

"You still need to get to the train before two, don't forget." Claire called from across the room as she fumbled with the folds of her robes.

"What? Oh, of course. Thanks for reminding me." _I'm sorry. _Grabbing her books hastily, she dropped a folded bit of paper as she prepared to leave the girl's dorm room. Riley noticed it out of the corner of her green eye and scooped it up, unfolding it.

"Bell, why do you have a lunar chart in your bag?"

"What?" Her head jerked around, unruly brown hair falling in her face as she snatched it from the other girl. "Uh, just an, um, enrichment Astronomy thing I'm, uh, doing."

"Are you sure?" Riley arched a curious brow, clearly not believing Bellua's lie.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Come on; don't want to be late for breakfast"

~0~

"Did you see Sirius today?"

"Did you see his hair?"

"Is he really dating the Ravenclaw Freda Willows or is that just a myth?"

Bellua stared hard into her hash browns, trying to shut out all the noise. Her mind was whirring at an insane speed, and when Riley called, "Hey Bells, could you pass the jam?" The smaller girl nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Jam. Right. Of course." Hand quivering slightly, she passed the jar to Claire, who blinked eyes heavy with mascara as she passed it back to Riley.

"Bells, you alright? You've been kind of...frazzled."

"Fine, fine, fine," Was the muttered reply.

"If I were you, I'd just be happy I'm visiting my sick mom instead of going through Herbology." She shuddered.

_Sick mom? Yeah, right. _But Bellua forced a smile, in a way of acknowledging this month's lie about her disappearance.

"Yeah, I mean, didn't you say your Devil's Snare was especially nasty?" Riley pointed out as she reached for another piece of toast.

"I wouldn't say _especially..._" Bellua trailed off; although she knew it was true and had a good guess why. The nasty plants with a nature to retaliate were, apparently, excellent at sniffing out anxiety.

"But seriously now, which of the Marauders have girlfriends? I mean, not just weekly blow-offs? I wouldn't mind asking one of them to the Yule Ball in two months...never too early to plan ahead..." Riley giggled in a very girly way.

"Wouldn't it be perfect if each of us got a Marauder for the ball?" Claire breathed.

"Peter and James already have girlfriends, and I doubt any of them have ever noticed me, let alone fancy dancing with me. We're all a year younger anyway," Bellua pointed out casually, although every time she joked about being the new kid it poked a hole in her heart.

"Aw, come on, what's one year? And they noticed you on Day 1. Everyone did."

"That's about it," I respond somewhat dejectedly.

"Really now, unless they want to go with a Slytherin, almost every girl their age is going to be taken within the month. Besides, you're pretty and nice and stuff." Riley smiled helpfully. "Just have to be more outright, you know?"

She blinked big blue eyes. "No."

Claire laughed. "Flirting is easy. I'll teach you sometime, m'kay?"

Bellua smiled wryly. "Teach me how to flirt? That sounds...so _wrong._"

The girls laughed as the scooped up their books as Riley pointed out. "Oh, you should hear some of the stuff she's said. I remember when me and Lily Evans were third-years, and Claire asked us..."

And with grins on their faces and laughter on their lips, the trio stood and set off for their first class – Transfiguration.

~0~

_"Sorry, girls, I won't be at supper or Herbology tomorrow. My mom is really sick and wanted me to visit. Don't bother waiting for me; I'll probably be back mid-morning anyways."_

Yesterday's lie echoed in her head as she stared at the toad she was to cast the _Geminio _spell on, thus duplicating it. Her only progress was growing an extra leg on the thing and she was on the verge of snapping and simply whacking the amphibian with her wand. She wasn't behind in the class by any means, but the world was swimming in front of her and she couldn't concentrate.

_Sick mom. As if I'd ever want to see her again. _

"You doing okay?" Riley, her partner, whispered to her. "I can't get the stupid thing to sit still.

"The flick has to be really dramatic. I only got a leg done." She replied through gritted teeth. Riley peeked at her mutated toad and struggled to keep a straight face as it hopelessly attempted to see the new limb.

"Hold on..." She flourished her wand grandly and pointed at the toad, giving it the death stare...to no success.

Bellua tried four more times until finally, with another wave of her 12-inch, dragon-heartstring aspen wand, the one leg shrunk in and an entirely new toad snapped into midair, an exact twin of the first_. _

"Excellent work, Ms. Dimid. You're the first to complete the task, now switch it back and try again." Professor McGonagall said softly as she walked round the class, checking progress. Ensuring no one saw, she gently squeezed Bellua's shoulder in a reassuring way as she walked past, bringing a soft smile to the girl's naturally pink lips.

Minerva McGonagall had been her rescuer and her guardian for the last several years, since she was eleven and had been liberated from the Meracus family. Under her guidance, Bellua had been taught behind the eyes of students until this year, when she'd accomplished a 'full recovery' from the trauma she'd experienced with the Meracuses, who were now in a wizard prison. McGonagall had always spoken of the girl's parents with loathing and contempt.

"Pureblood fanatics," She would spit angrily when she thought Bellua was asleep. "Monstrous people couldn't accept their precious bloodline being tainted. What sane man and woman lock a little girl in their basement? It's...I can't begin to understand why. Disgusting."

So yes, Hogwarts had saved Bellua, but especially McGonagall. She'd always hoped she'd be accepted into Gryffindor. And McGonagall had suggested Bellua taking on a new name, but she held on to it. Unfortunately, not the only echo of her past she wouldn't – or couldn't – let go of.

Because, back in those days it was often McGonagall teaching her every class, Bellua was excellent at Transfiguration...usually.

Needless to say, her mind was off that day.

~0~

_"No, of course not, this is all a terrible mistake. She's very well cared for, and we've tried everything to cure her since she was four, been very understanding of her, how dare you just come barging in here..."_

_Minerva was absolutely disgusted by the syrupy sweet words coming from the Meracuses' mouths. The Ministry of Magic had been keeping an eye on them for a while now, but this...was just repulsive._

_"Stop. Just stop." She cut off Silas Meracus in the middle of his indignant demands about a wizard's rights. "Come downstairs."_

_Their basement, like the rest of the house, was a designer's dream, everything spotless and detail-attentive, well lit and beyond beautiful. Only one door leading off, presumably to the furnace room. Dressed in heavy furs, McGonagall felt no desire to go in there._

_"Why are we down here? Don't you understand those stories are just rumors? Who did you hear that rubbish from, Bellua's sleeping over with her friend, she's very happy-"_

_"Jocelyn, _please._ Listen to me. You've been reported by several eyewitnesses, and if there really is nothing wrong, there will be no harm done. And really, the name Bellua. It's not her birth name, and I would like to wonder why you changed it. And I've heard her last name has been altered as well."_

_"I can sue you, you know, for violating-"_

_An ear-splitting scream came from the furnace room. Crying and clanging of metal as something begged for attention. Jocelyn Meracus jumped at the sound and widened her eyes. Several of the wizards neared them, as if expecting the Meracuses to run._

_"Wait here." McGonagall went into the stifling hot furnace room, which was small and concrete, and there were chains locked to the walls, and locked in the manacles was..._

_"Oh, God." She whispered, putting a hand to her mouth._

_The tiny figure whimpered in pain before she passed out._

Professor McGonagall was jerked from her pacing and her memories by a gentle knocking. Knowing and dreading who it was, she called softly, "Enter."

Slowly, timidly, Bellua opened the door a crack. She always wore as much as she could, long sleeves and thick socks and collars, to hide the scars. A pang of sympathy rushed through McGonagall, as she always felt when this girl or her other 'special' student came to her. This room of the two-room crypt was more comfortable, well-lit and very strong. The other was ruined, with the furniture in tatters and scratch marks on the walls. No surprise there, really

"Um, Professor? I'm...I'm ready."

"Excellent, dear." The Professor would never be caught dead calling any other student 'dear'. But the girl had a special spot in her heart. "How do you feel besides...besides the usual?"

"Just normal, I suppose." It was always awkward to talk about her condition, but Bellua was surprisingly calm about it.

"Alright, then. Do you want to go in now?" Sometimes she stayed out a little longer, with a cup of tea or hot chocolate conjured up, and would talk with McGonagall. They didn't do it quite as much now that Bellua was officially attending the school, but it was still enjoyable. It soothed Bellua's nerves as well.

"Alright...but can I ask you a question first?" She asked tentatively.

"Of course."

"If my nightmares were coming back, would...would I...have to drop out of school?" She said the last couple of words very fast, trying to get it over with, and prayed the answer would be no. Before she was officially a student she'd lived in a small room with an invisible wall, borrowing Dumbledore's Invisibility Cloak if she had to walk in public. But being an actual student, having friends...somewhat eased the burn of the monster's claws, the pain of releasing it every month.

"Have they?" Minerva tilted her head slightly.

"Well..." She played with her fingers nervously. "Yes."

"My dear, the past is never coming back; you mustn't be afraid of it." She smiled softly for a brief moment, then stopped. "Have your roommates noticed?"

"I don't think so, and they are terrible at keeping secrets."

"Then it should be okay. Just tell me or the Headmaster if they begin to worry you too much."

"Okay, thank-" She paused, eyes widening as she looked past the Professor. "Oh no."

"Oh, my, what time is it? Oh, Merlin, of course. There's overcast tonight but even so, we must hurry..." Hastily she ushered Bellua to the segment leading off, into a wider room with a reinforced door and several light bulbs illuminating the small space. All the furniture was destroyed and it was mildly cold in there. _Good luck, _she would have said if it'd helped at all.

"Thank you," Bellua managed before the door was slammed shut.

~0~

"Shush, we're almost there."

"This is your worst idea ever. What if we get caught?!"

"Oh, come on! You know well as I do that Bell's up to something. This is our chance to find out what! Now shut up and let me listen."

Riley and Claire crouched in front of the crypt at eleven forty-five - if anyone caught them, they would be in serious trouble and McGonagall was not below reducing points from her own house...unfortunately. Claire was crouched at a hairline crack near the bottom of the door, ear pressed against it and breaking so many rules. Riley was especially nervous. She'd liked Bellua a lot, being more sympathetic when she was sick, or shy. But even so...this was a little much, following her and eavesdropping so obviously. And the grass was wet and she was shivering against the cold and nervousness. So she spoke up again.

"Seriously, mate! If she lied, of course it's something important, so we shouldn't be snooping around like-"

Suddenly Claire yelped in horror and shot backwards, shaking.

"Claire! What's wrong?!" Riley gasped in surprise.

"Buh-b-b-b-b-Bellua j-just-"

"What, _what?_"

"She just _screamed!"_

"What?! We have to get in there!"

"Wait." Claire held up her hand, blocking Riley. "She...I don't think it was really her. It was all...low. Animal-ish."

"Then it wasn't-" Riley began, but was cut off.

"No! I'm _sure _it was her!"

"Then we have to get in there!" The dark-haired, panicking girl cried. Swiftly she withdrew her wand, calling, _"Alohomora!" _And gesturing at the doorknob.

The door shot open, revealing Professor McGonagall whipping around, alone, shocked and very angry.

"What are you two doing here?" She hissed. "Breaking into a building after dark! Twenty points from Gryffindor, now _out!_"

"But we head-" Claire tried hopelessly.

"No buts! If I was Professor Slughorn it would've been sixty points! _Out!_"

"Where's Bellua?!" Riley blurted as they were shepherded out of the tomb.

"That is none of your business, Ms. McGuire, now please leave before I-"

An ear-splitting shriek sounded from the second half of the crypt. It was nothing like Bellua – it was an animal, screaming its rage and pain in that room.

"W-w-was that...what you heard, Claire?" Riley shot a horrified glance at her friend, who was pale as a ghost.

"Suh...Sorta..." She managed. Riley was stunned into silence, horror building on her. "Professor, what was that?"

McGonagall exhaled deeply before answering, "Girls, I want all of you to go to the MedicalBay. Tell Madam Pomfrey I am letting you stay for Bellua. Do not leave, do not take any detours. Your questions will be answered there. Is that clear?" Her tone was hollow, losing much of its sharpness. But the girls knew better than to disobey her, and barely managed nods before running to the castle.

~0~

"I can't believe it." Claire was staring blankly in front of her. "Every month...the lunar charts...how could we be so stupid? Of course she's a...a..."

"Werewolf?" Riley offered quietly.

"Yeah. That. A Dark creature. A monster." She shuddered deeply. "And we're in the same dorm as her! Imagine what she could've done!"

"If she was going to do it, she would've done it the last few months." Riley pointed out, who was the calmest of the three but still badly shaken.

"How do you know? She wasn't our friend for so long. And now that she'll know we know..."

Riley frowned, then it dawned on her and she whispered, horrified, "Are you saying she'll...get us out of the picture?"

"Well, she'd be the only Gryffindor the same age as the Marauders." Claire pointed out. Already the two were ganging up on her. "And that way it'd keep us from spilling to everyone!" she shuddered again. "Imagine what that...th-th-that _monster _could have done!"

"But...she's still Bellua, isn't she?" Riley mumbled, nervous. _No, she's not a monster. It can't be._

"We don't really know her that well. And she's lied to us every month, and she never talks about her past or why she bundles up so much every day. We don't know her very well, Riley. Especially now. I've always had a bad feeling, why she's so secretive and quiet and stuff. But now? We can't trust a Dark creature, Riles." She said softly, and Riley found herself agreeing

And with those grim words hanging in the air, the pair silently awaited Bellua's arrival.

~0~

Bellua awoke feeling very sore, like usual. The white of the hospital was welcoming...until it was broken by the sharp,

"Hey, Bells."

Blinking, she sat up, wincing as she did so, to see Claire and Riley at the foot of the bed. None of them looked happy.

"Uh...hi." Suddenly aware of her scars, she yanked the covers up over her neck and arms. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Oh, we figured you'd be here after your transformation." Claire said casually.

The words struck Bellua like a lightning bolt.

"W...What?"

"Don't lie, Bells. We know you're a werewolf."

Bellua stared, horrified. They knew.

Her friends knew.

Knew she was a monster.

_But...they're my friends, right?_

_They'll...maybe they'll forgive me..._

"A...werewolf?" She mumbled blankly.

"Yeah. A man-wolf. Lycanthrope. Werewolf. Beast of the Moon. Dark creature. Monster. Your choice, really." Claire said coldly.

She acted so calm about it...but why was Claire deliberately hurting her? And yes, it hurt. It felt as if her scars were alight.

"I...I'm sorry..." She began, but she was cut off.

"Don't apologize, Bellua. You lied to us. You're a monster. You're impossible to trust, impossible to know. There's nothing worth forgiving."

A single tear welled at the edge of her cheek and she felt horrible sadness threaten to creep in.

"But...you're my friends...aren't you?" She whispered.

"Friends are truthful to each other, Bellua."

"This was too big, don't you get it? None of you have a problem like this-"

"So then we have nothing in common. We're not your friends anymore." Claire almost sneered.

Blinking back overwhelming sorrow, Bellua turned to Riley. "Riley? You haven't said anything."

To her horror, Riley lifted her chin and simply said, "I can't trust you if you're going to be like this, Bellua. Guess you didn't cut it."

"Are..." It was a miracle she could still talk. "Are you going to tell people?"

"No."

"Are you going to make me move out?"

"Move out? Where would you go?" Claire leaned in. "But if you get close to us I'll Conjunctivitus Curse you until you're blind." She then turned around. "C'mon Riles."

And they were gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** **Sorry about the spacing, I kind of hate it...**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE HARRY POTTER UNIVERSE! ANYTHING YOU RECOGNIZE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME!**

She despised her condition. She despised everything about it. She despised every horror story, ever poorly-written romance novel based on it. She despised the soreness, the scars, the way it had ruined her life. She hated herself, and it was a sick feeling.

When she'd been healthy enough to dress and go back to the fifth-year dorm, she had been shocked to see her bed, which had been between Claire and Riley, to be shoved to the side and the two others pushed together. One of them had even cast a _Cave Inimicum _charm, keeping Bellua from entering. They must've told some lie to Lily Evans because she didn't question it or talk to Bellua any more than usual – which was not at all.

And the weekend and school day after the full moon, which was on Thursday, they were not scornful but simply acted as though she didn't exist. Which was almost worse. When they were told they'd be starting new projects before Halloween, her ex-friends-teammates in Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Potions and Ancient Runes both announced without warning they wanted to switch partners on Monday and otherwise acted as though they had no partners, despite Bellua's futile attempts to speak with them.

On Friday she found her usual spot abandoned, and she was sitting as far from the others as possible. Breakfast, lunch and dinner she was alone, feeling as isolated as...well – a werewolf. Her scars seemed to hurt even more and she despised every day in public – even when Gryffindor's Quidditch team crushed Ravenclaw two hundred eighty points to seventy. And the worst part about this loneliness was that she'd felt it before and had honestly believed she wouldn't ever again. It hurt to be alone again.

~0~

_Tuesday_

"Yes, students, today we are starting on a new subject: The _Silencio _Charm." Professor Flitwick stated rather grandly. Riley was at the back of the room, fumbling with her books and apologizing but in reality just not wanting to get anywhere near Bellua.

"Yes, it's a nifty one. Renders a person or beast absolutely mute. It's a shame they're somewhat frowned upon in board meetings, really. Ah, anyway, this one is a little trickier, so it'll take a while to learn. But firstly, I must say that, like before, we are assigned partners. And a few pairs will be switched out of choice...or simply because they need to pay attention." He blinked sternly across the room before calling names:

"Ms. Wreath, you are now with Ms. Farraway. Ms. Martinez, you are now with Mr. Clarke."

Two Ravenclaw girls stood, nodding to each other calmly as they walked across the wide room and switched seats. Their new partners didn't seem to mind at all.

"Ms. Jackson, you are now with Mr. Black." I swore I could hear Claire's heartbeat triple in speed. "Mr. Lupin, you are now with Ms. Dimid."

_Remus Lupin? The Marauder?_

Bellua was, to say the least, very surprised as the fifth-year sat next to her. His soft brown hair fell over his eyes as he nodded slightly before turning back to Flitwick.

They might as well have not been partners at first. Barely even shooting glances at each other, they flicked their wands again and again, murmuring the magic words futilely, and yet again she felt her calm slipping. It irritated her endlessly and that didn't help either. Even with her partner seeming so calm, it wasn't for a while until the cricket next to her fell silent in mid-chirp.

Blinking, she turned to Remus, who had a sort of shocked elation on his face. Not competitive but determined to make up for her falling behind yesterday, she said yet again, _"Silencio," _Giving a slight wave and flick of her wand. Nothing. Sighing in exasperation, she leaned back in her chair and stared dejectedly at her wand. Nearly everyone else was finished, why couldn't she keep her head clear...

"Uh, you may want to-"

She turned sharply and Remus stopped mid-sentence, as if fearing he'd offended her.

"Yes?" She prompted, finding her voice coming off as very quiet. It was always soft, but in the loud room it felt even more so. Remus was a taller than her (although that really wasn't saying much, as she was quite petite) but not much wider – he wasn't skinny like she was, but very lean.

"I...was thinking you may want to accentuate it a little more. It's weird, yes, but it may help." He offered, his hair in his face a constant distraction to her. _How does he see through those? _Then again, if she could see through the long hair constantly falling in _her_ face, he could do just fine she supposed.

"Like, _Silencio?_" And as she spoke, exaggerating the terms, the cricket – _finally _ – shut up. Eyes widening, she flicked the wand again and returned it to its natural state.

"Yeah. Like that." He smiled tentatively at her as the bell rang before hastily grabbing his books and leaving without another word. _Shy fellow, _she thought, but was not one to judge – for that would be pure hypocrisy.

~0~

After Charms and Transfiguration was lunch. Due to the surprising warmth of the day, most of the students were outside, chatting or tossing balls back and forth. Silently she rested her back against the foot of a tree and looked over the book she held about Hippocampus babies, known as Tadfoals. They were adorable, but very feisty and she was mildly concerned about hers. It had a scarred flipper and couldn't swim nearly as well, and was reading up on magical means of healing.

A boy walked past her that caught her eye. He was medium height, dressed all in black, very pale and his dark hair needed a wash. His gait and constant glances around suggested he was antsy. Silently he leaned against the tree a little ways away from hers in a near-identical position, nose deep in his book: _Advanced Potion-Making. _Bellua had it herself, but had never _read _it out of habit. He must really enjoy the class, she understood, or be really behind. But mostly what she noticed about him was his house.

_Slytherin._ The detestation most Gryffindor her age felt for their opposing house did not really occur to her. But just by looking at him she could tell that he was uncomfortable. As if dreading something.

"Look, there he is!"

"Get him!"

Raucous laughter echoed behind them and the black-dressed boy jumped obviously, struggling to grab his stuff before whoever it was caught up to him. Finally he abandoned hope of stuffing _Advanced Potion-Making _into his bag and stood, the book tucked under his arm. Whooping with laughter, Sirius Black and James Potter came into view, grinning cruelly. Bellua felt a rush of anger but was totally unsure of what to do.

"What're you reading, Snivellus?" James smirked.

"Nothing, go away." The boy said in a high voice, but he was clearly nervous. His voice was oddly low but not strong, and he brushed his greasy hair out of his eyes as he stared at the taller boys.

Out of the corner of her eye, Bellua noticed people coming to watch. Peter Pettigrew was near the front, eager to see what would happen, and Remus Lupin was nowhere to be seen. A part of Bellua hoped he wouldn't get involved, but most of her was just hoping _she _wouldn't. Everyone was looking at the 'Snivellus' boy, who stood alone with his book under his arm and a forced brave look on his face.

"Aw, c'mon, hand it over. We're gonna get it out of your slimy hands anyway." James held out his hands.

"No." The Slytherin boy was trembling. _Walk away, walk away. _Bellua begged herself, but she was frozen in place.

Sirius grinned wider. "You're gonna have to fight us then. Think you can when Evans isn't here to protect you?" James sniggered. "Can you even see your target around that hooked nose?"

_Evans? Lily Evans? What has she got to do with this?_

Suddenly Potter withdrew his wand and cried, _"Accio!" _And the book flew from the Slytherin's grip. The boy immediately went for his wand but Sirius was faster, and with a quick, _"Expelliarmus!" _sent it flying into James's hand.

The Marauder opened the book. "Huh. Didn't think you were any good at potions, Snivellus."

"Give it back," He insisted, small hands clenched into white fists and hair falling in his face.

"Okay, fine." James tossed the book into the air as if to pass it, but as it flew he said, almost dismissively with a flick of his wand, _"Expulso." _

And the book exploded in midair.

The boy stared, horrified as bits of charred paper and Sirius laughed, "Here goes your wand!" and tossed it to James, who prepared to throw it up. As he inhaled deeply, as if gaining suspense, The Slytherin boy yelled and rushed him, only to have the much bigger Sirius intercept and grab him, pinning his arms to his side as James dropped the boy's wand and punched him in the face. A sickening _crunch _signified a broken nose even before the second and third punches.

Bellua gasped and found herself curling up tighter as if she could hide behind her book. The Slytherin boy staggered back and fell hard on his behind as the two Marauders mocked him mercilessly, kicking him now and then.

When they were finished, Sirius was about to turn around when he kicked the Slytherin once more in the head. Bellua gasped sharply and flinched as the two Marauders were joined by Pettigrew and the trio walked off, Remus nowhere to be seen. Bellua felt cold as she saw the boy grabbing his wand and running as the small crowd dissipated, some of them jeering, "Snivellus Snake! Snivellus Snake!"

Bellua was unmoving, stunned by the bullying and more stunned by her lack of action. Not like she could _fight _them single-handedly, but maybe if she'd stood up for him...

Suddenly having an idea, she yanked open her bag and found her copy of _Advanced Potion-Making._

"_Geminio_," She murmured under her breath, forming a duplicate before her eyes. Then she stood and, hastily, went to search for the Slytherin boy. Now that she thought about it, she was pretty sure she knew who he was, too.

~0~

The pumpkin patch had been a good place to hide...until Hagrid had gone and chopped up all the pumpkins for the Halloween feast. It was not rare for Severus to wish Lily was still his friend, but now that want burned even brighter. Holding the side of his face and head where he'd been punched and kicked, he found himself in the no-longer-used Dueling Hall and hid in a corner of it, struggling to hold back soft, wracking moans of pain. His ear was burning and ringing and his face just _hurt, _hurt _so _bad, along with his side where Black's boot had made contact with his side, which was already sore from the _last _time he'd kicked it, and the time before.

Footsteps. _Obviously searching for me. _The jolt of fear was replaced with relief when he realized it was only one person, but quickly accelerated. Who was it? It was almost sad, now that Severus thought about it, how he had learned to dread the two tallest Marauders so much, he'd learned the sound of their feet on stone. He found bitter hatred welling up inside of him, as it often did, and felt no need to shove it down. It was how he felt about everyone, really.

She'd seen the edge of his black cloak whisking around the corridor. The room he'd gone into wasn't used much now, since the Dueling Club had been cancelled and there was no reason to head down there. It was dark, so she illuminated the tip of her wand and peeked through the dusty door, pleased she'd been cautious and brought her Episkey Cloth, which had healed too many scratches to count.

As she entered she heard hoarse, suppressed sobs and felt a flash of anger. _How dare they? What kind of person does that?_

She knew this feeling all too well not to sympathize with it.

Severus looked up to see a Gryffindor girl standing over him.

"Go away," He tried to snap before wincing out at the pain his swollen lip gave him. His hands were still on the right side of his face and blood was trickling between his fingers from his bleeding and broken nose.

He felt small hands pulling at his, pulling them away from his face, and he turned irritably to see her crouching next to him, concern on her pale features evident even with the _Lumos _spell gone. Her hair blowing across her face constantly kept him from getting a good look, but she had a pale complexion and big blue-grey eyes – but not as startlingly colorful as Lily's.

_Lily. _The last girl to touch his hand had been Lily. The memory of last month's argument brought raw pain to his heart, making him jerk away, snatch his wand and stand up.

"What do you want?" he hissed, trying and failing to keep the tears from his voice and eyes.

He pointed the wand directly at her and in response she lifted her own. She replied to his question with a flick of her wand and a soft, _"Episkey." _Immediately a rush of numbing cold filled Severus's jaw, only for a few moments. He inhaled swiftly as the feeling brought along with it a...niceness, as if Madam Pomfrey were healing his wounds in the warm white room instead of this girl in a dark corridor. And as it faded, it brought the pain with it. Stunned and suspicious, Severus tentatively touched his lip, feeling that it was tender but did not hurt.

"You're not done. _Episkey,_" She said again, and the blood on his face vanished and the bruises subsided with a flash of heat, the bones taking a second longer but mending just the same. Then she withdrew a cloth and asked, "Do you want me to clean your ear? I can't reach it with the spell."

He narrowed his eyes. "I don't need a Gryffindor's _pity._"

"It's not pity." She found her voice coming off as very quiet in the silence of the room. "It's my way of getting back at those thick-headed goons." She arched a dark eyebrow and watched the Slytherin. "Plus, everyone's going to notice that much blood."

He looked as if he was to protest, but just narrowed his eyes and knelt down again, in the same position she'd found him in. She did not smile in satisfaction as Lily would have done, just crouched next to him, her weight on her knees. The cloth was wet, he realized as she dabbed gently at his neck. He shuddered at first under the coolness of it, but relaxed quickly as the soft cloth brush away the black trail, then clean around his ear and he sighed with pleasure as the pain subsided. To her mild surprise, he did not move away until she was finished, and by that time his ear had stopped bleeding due to the touch of magic in the cloth. His face revealed his astonishment as he turned to her, gingerly touching his cleaned ear. But she was not finished.

"Here," She said, and the boy turned to see her offering a copy of _Advanced Potion-Making._ It was a little worn around the edges but was certainly in better condition than his. And she was _offering _it to him? A Gryffindor was healing and gifting a Slytherin? What was she playing? Had the Marauders sent her to toy with him so they could just hit him even harder later? He was certain James had an eye on Lily – maybe the Marauder was just trying to get the Severus as far from her as possible.

Frowning, he did not accept the outstretched book as he was lost in thought, and she sighed in exasperation and said, "Well, I don't have a use for a second one, so you might as well. You'll be doing me a favor."

He stared at it, then exhaled softly and took it. He flipped through the pages and found it to be in good shape. "Um, thanks." He managed.

"You're Severus, right?"

"Yes."

"I'm Bellua."

"I know."

To his surprise, she stuck out her hand. Hesitantly he took it in a light grip, surprised to feel the grooves of multiple scars against the hand. She nodded as if in approval, shaking once before letting go.

"Why?" Severus pushed. "Why are you doing this?"

She blinked, as if it was obvious. "Why shouldn't I?"

"I'm...I'm Slytherin. The Marauders hate me. You're Gryffindor."

She bit her lip, and her eyes grew distant and she spoke very softly, "That doesn't mean you deserve to fight alone."

Then she blinked and returned eye contact and said in her normal tone. "Please keep the book. Whether you want it or not, Slughorn won't be impressed if you go without it. Nice meeting you." And she turned on her heel and began to walk.

"Wait," He called, and she turned again, regarding him silently. He felt ridiculous, asking this question, but was dying to know. He fiddled his fingers and nervously said, "Are you a Muh...Are you Muggle-born?"

Clearly she didn't understand why he asked, but she replied, "No. No, I'm not."

And she left, Severus watching her leave and handling the book, utterly confused. He'd thought, for a while, no one was going to be any good to him save Lily, and he'd almost given up asking her to forgive him but...who was this Dimid girl? What was with her, the way her hands had been scarred all over (which he could swear was why she wore so much extra clothing) and she'd spoken with a strange depth Severus could relate to but not understand? She was a mystery...one he found himself wanting to solve.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note (ha! That sounds so professional!): please R&R, they're what's going to keep me posting!**

**DISCLAIMER (again): I DO NOT OWN THE HARRY POTTER UNIVERSE. Anything you recognize is not mine!**

"Ms. Dimid, your new partner is Mr. Lupin."

_Seriously? _She turned to see the other fifth-year, her disbelieving expression mimicked on his as he sat next to her. The hesitation in Professor Slughorn's voice suggested that she was skeptical about it too.

Remus Lupin was in _all _her classes, which she wouldn't have noticed if she didn't sit next to him in _all _of them. It was Monday, and she was paired with Remus Lupin on Charms, Ancient Runes and now Potions – all three classes she'd needed a partner in. Although she didn't mind him she certainly didn't expect him to be her partner in this as well. Was this a plan of some sort? Bellua thought it an odd coincidence but didn't bother to stress on it – despite constantly being paired up they had only ever spoken with each other that one time in Charms.

After barely managing to complete their Invigoration Draught, they were gathering their books when Lupin said softly, "Why don't you sit with the other fifth-year girls anymore?"

She stopped for just a moment, then exhaled and stuffed the last quill into her bag. "We're...They don't want to be friends anymore." She replied somewhat hesitantly.

"Oh?" They both stood and began to walk down the spiral staircase.

"Well more like they hate me now." The frustration in her tone was all too evident.

"That's why you needed a new partner, then."

"Yes."

He didn't reply for a little while, which Bellua was perfectly fine with. The comfortable silence was only broken when he said, "It's a beautiful day out today."

"It was hard to concentrate upstairs with all the light streaming in through the windows." She agreed.

"I _usually_ have a hard time concentrating." He admitted a little sheepishly, bringing a smile to Bellua's lips.

Then they reached the foot of the stairs, where students were milling towards the dining hall. "Well, I'll see you around." He smiled back tentatively.

"Later." She replied, watching him head up towards the Gryffindor common room and actually kind of...

...Missing him? Bellua frowned, considering. She'd never minded being alone, much preferring to allow her thoughts to roam freely, but Remus was...different. Like her, almost, calm and quiet and knowing when to shut up. He was nice to talk to, she decided, and would like to do it again.

For the first time, she was happy he was her partner.

~0~

The long stone stairway out into the courtyard was nearly full with students – not that Bellua could blame them. It was another surprisingly gorgeous day and she breathed deeply, savoring the chilly, crisp scent of the air. An apple in her hand and a book in the other, she strolled down the steps, feeling...contented. For the first time in a while, she was calmly pleased with the world.

Severus Snape was a little ways away, out of sight of most and under the shade of a tree, she noticed calmly. She hadn't forgotten that one encounter (As if she could) and wasn't entirely certain about the Slytherin. He was...strange, to say the least. To say the _most _would be pointing out his suspicion, but Bellua was a strange girl and Severus probably noticed that, that's all.

Right?

He stood and began to head towards the castle and James Potter tripped him as he went, smirking as quills, books and parchment spilled over the ground. The Gryffindor stalked towards Severus, shoving his boot into the smaller fifth-year's back before he could stand and grinding the Slytherin's face into the ground.

Anger rushed through Bellua and she ran over, hands clenched into fists. "Hey!"

James turned sharply, but didn't seem perturbed. "Oh, hey Dimid." He greeted cheerfully as he drew his wand.

She walked right up to him and gave the tall boy a hard shove. "Knock it off!" She snapped.

He turned, obviously not taking her seriously. "Aw, c'mon, it's just Snivellus."

"_Just Snivellus?_" She repeated, clearly furious. "What is wrong with you? Can't you find something better to do than being an overstuffed bully?"

He snorted. "Why are you siding with him?"

"Why shouldn't I? _You're _the wrong here."

He smirked. "So righteous, aren't you? Who cares, anyway? Snivel's a slimy, arrogant little toad obsessed with Dark Arts, he doesn't deserve any help, especially not from a Gryffin-"

He hadn't finished because she had just slapped him in the face, sending him off-balance and cutting his lip. Immediately he got up, stared at her through uneven glasses. "What the hell-" He began before she drew her wand.

"Go away." She growled, and he complied, a strange blend of pain, confusion and surprise on his face as he back away, then ran out of sight.

Bellua then turned to see Severus getting up, clearly angry.

"Why did you do that?" He snapped. "You made me look weak in front of him!"

"Well, I'm sorry, next time you can just keep your pride, and your broken nose, and your bleeding ear!" She retorted.

"I don't want any help!" He snapped.

"Then I'll let you get beaten up if that's what you really want!" She almost shouted.

There was silence for a moment, just two pairs of eyes glaring at each other. Then he exhaled deeply and said. "Okay, fine... sorry for being, y'know, ungrateful. I could've got it a lot worse...thanks."

She didn't soften immediately, just pursed her lips. The wind blew her hair across her face and her blue eyes were lost in thought but she eventually replied, "Here," And extended her hand to help him up. He regarded it, then took it and she hoisted him into a stand.

As soon as she was standing, he gripped her hand harder, yanking it close and shoving the sleeve back. Her wrist was barely swollen, as it would be if one had been roughly chained for too long, and her arms was covered with deep scars, many of them still healing. He stared openly, horrified and fascinated at the long scratches, the bites and tears, and why had she been chained...

_"Aguamenti!"_ and a blast of water threw Severus backwards, sopping wet and quickly becoming muddy.

"I didn't have to side with you." She cried. "I could have left you there to be hurt and I could've watched and done _nothing_. And I thought you were actually decent for a minute." A shimmering tear trickled under her left eye. "I can't trust anybody, can I?" And she began to turn away.

"Wait!" He called, running after her and grabbing her arm, his hand slippery from being drenched.

She whipped around, wand at his throat and he froze but still said, "I didn't know. I really didn't know you were so...scarred." He stammered. "Please, I'm sorry. Really."

She stared at him, and the darkness in her gaze was shocking. But she replied. "How can I trust you? I couldn't trust my friends. I can't trust myself." For a moment, it was difficult to figure out if she was actually talking to him. "I'm volatile. I'm hideous." She mumbled, not looking at him.

He shook his head immediately. "No. No, you're not. Not any worse than me, anyway."

She lowered her wand and looked him in the eye. "You know, you're not as nasty as they say you are."

He blinked, knowing color was rising in his cheeks.

"Just don't compare yourself to me, and I'll forgive you, okay?"

"Uh, okay..."

"Okay." She withdrew her wand. "I need to get to Ancient Runes." And she turned, sheathing her wand and walking away.

~0~

Remus Lupin was good at Ancient Runes. Like, really, _really _good. _He isn't a Prefect for nothing, _she realized as she sat on his left side, both learning the versions of the Darknessrune. There were seven, and each one (supposedly) was a slightly different kind of shadow. Darkness of the night, dark magic, dark minds, darkness of the soul...

Was that her? She blinked at it, then flipped through to find the rune for Werewolf. She caught Remus shooting her a glance as she searched through the Ws, but nothing more than a glance. A little more hesitant, her finger hovered over Whales as her eyes traced the Werewolf symbol. It was a circular shape with a small circle on the inner edge of it. Inside were two long, jagged lines she recognized as the symbol for Wolf. The line cutting across it meant separation. _Separation from a conscious or separation from society? _She wondered bitterly, not realizing her fist had clenched and crumpled her paper. It wasn't until Remus tapped her arm and she flinched at his touch did her grip release. Tacitly lifted his eyebrows in a silent question, and she mouthed, _Later._ He nodded and looked back at his runes as the teacher droned on about the 'distinct curve in the line' and she knew Remus would not forget.

Why was she so nervous? Her instincts and emotions often ran wild several days before the full moon, but it was _weeks _early. She felt a stirring in her core as she chanced another look at Remus, watching the way his hair fell in his eyes and his green eyes stared at his notes. He had soft cheekbone lines and a slight smile tugged at his lips as he figured something out. She almost found it difficult to tear her eyes away, when she actually _could_.

~0~

_Later. _She regretted saying that as he approached her after dark in the Gryffindor common room, the light of the fire constantly shifting and casting shadows over the wall. He plopped down into one of the several huge plush chairs, allowing the silence to drag on for another three and a half minutes before he attempted a smile and said, "Well, it _is_ later."

She sighed. "Yes. It is."

"It's odd that we have every single class together, don't you think?"

A ghost of a smile played along her lips. "Yes. It is."

"You don't suppose it was intentional, do you?"

She gives a delicate shrug, eyes still on the flickering fire steadily burning out in the hearth. "Do you?"

He bit his lip. "I don't know."

Another long moment of quiet, broken when she said, "I'm sorry, but..."

"You don't have to tell me whatever was annoying you," He murmured, turning his head to look at her. Deep green met grey-blue and she could only hold the gaze for so long, feeling utterly terrible about her secrets now more than ever.

"Thank you," She said softly, relief in her tone. He nodded, then stood to head up to the boy's dorm. But he paused partway up the stairs.

"Uh, Bellua?" He turned to look at her, fiddling with his fingers. She turned to look at him, arching an eyebrow questioningly. "Do you still sit by yourself?"

She hesitated but replied, "Yes."

"Well, you could sit with me and the other Marauders if you wanted."

She blinked, almost smiling. "Will the others behave?"

Remus shrugged. "No promises."

"Then sure." She grinned as she headed up to the girl's dorm. "G'night."

He smiled shyly. "'Night."

She headed up to the dorm and sat gently on her bed, Lily's in the middle and Claire and Riley's far off to the side. Lily was reading a book by wand-light, and lifted her red head when she heard the door close.

"Hi." She greeted, and got a nod from Bellua in return. That was all the words they shared that night as Bellua changed and pulled the covers over her scarred form, slipping into dreams...

_"Mummy, please! What did I do wrong?"_

_"Quiet, Bellua."_

_"No! That's not my name! You should know, Mummy! I'm Wisteria! Wisteria Meracus!"_

_"I'm not your mother anymore, Bellua. Go to the furnace room and wait for me to come get you."_

_"But Mummy, it's scary down there-"_

_"I AM NOT YOUR MOTHER!" Wisteria cringed at the rage in her mother's tone. "I will not mother a monster and the purity of the Meracuses will not be tarnished by...this!" The tall, raven-haired woman gestured at Wisteria and curled her lip scornfully._

_Wisteria whispered, tears streaming down her small face. "But Mummy, you said I was beautiful. You said I was a pureblood. You said I was the best."_

_"Not anymore. You will not be a black mark in our pureblood line. Go to the basement, NOW, and wait for me to come get you."_

_Wisteria went to the basement._

_Mummy never came._

Bellua's eyes snapped open and she cringed against the heat of the room. It reminded her of the furnace room, where she'd be chained for days on end until the monster managed to break them. Her left hand traced the chain marks on her other wrist and she thought about Remus...she had never dated in her life, never been interested in a male, but what would he think? What about Severus, who'd already seen scars but not realized the full, hideous extent? Would they be sworn to secrecy or would the entire school find out about her...condition? She was nearly certain Dumbledore was the only European Headmaster that would accept a werewolf into school, meaning she would have nowhere to go. No one would shelter a werewolf, or hire one, or love one...

_Ah, shut up. _She shook her head and let go of her wrist, hoping she could get to sleep. But images of Severus staring in horror at her wrist haunted her mind, of a smart person like him or Remus putting all the clues together, her absences and sick days and scars, and realizing she was a-

She inhaled sharply, a tear trickling down the side of her face, and sat up, wiping her now streaming eyes and grabbing her wand as she headed down, into the common room still in her T-shirt, fluffy black pajama pants and thick socks. _"Incendio," _Bellua sniffed around her tears, and the fireplace crackled softly as warmth and light filled the room. Curling up in a tight ball on one of the chairs, she buried her face in her knees and whimpered softly, wondering if she would always be alone. "God I want to dream again, take me where I've never been," She whispered the lyrics and held herself tighter. "I wanna go there, this time I'm not scared." Sniffing ungracefully, she wiped her nose and said very softly, "Now I'm unbreakable, it's unmistakable...no one can touch me, nothing can stop me..."

~0~

From the stairs, Remus saw Bellua as she murmured a song and hugged her legs, burying her face out of sight and holding her wand loosely in her small hand. He too hadn't slept well and had planned to head down and read a little, to help him drift off. Unsure of how to proceed, he bit his lip and was about to step forward when the glow of the fire cast itself across her arms, revealing the scars.

Yes, Remus knew what it was like to have marks, but hers were..._everywhere. _The fine lines across her cheek were far more obvious in this light without her hair in her face and countless former wounds raked across her arms and collarbone. Her wrists had clearly once been roughly chained and grabbed several times by the raised marks running around them, and all these vicious scores were paler than the rest of the skin, and he could see now just how skinny she was.

He couldn't help it, he gasped aloud.

She whipped around, hair falling in her face and hiding some of the marks, and she yelped in surprise and bolted when their eyes met.

"Bellua, wait, Damnit!" Remus ran for her, grabbing her arm before she could reach the stairs. Immediately she turned and pointed her wand at his throat, making him freeze. There was a moment of no movement until she realized her 'attacker' and her reddened eyes widened.

"R-R-Remus..." She gasped, wand clattering to the floor. "I...I..." Her gaze fell on her wrist, where he'd grabbed her. His thumb felt the ridges of the scars and he didn't dare move.

"What...who did this?" He whispered, feeling a rush of fury at whoever harmed this girl, whoever had marred her so viciously they left marks she'd never forget.

She whispered, "Let me go."

"No." His grip tightened. "Not until you tell me."

"Let go or I'll hex you."

"You dropped your wand."

"Then I'll hit you." Tears were forming around her eyes. "Please, just let me go."

"Why should I? You're out here at 3 am, hurting, and you expect me to just watch?" He retorted. "Who did this? They have to be punished, tell me."

"Please..." She acted as though she didn't hear, and her tearstained face was wrought with terror and shame. "...Please..."

He held eye contact for a moment longer, but facing such raw fear was near impossible. Then he murmured, "Okay," and let her go. She backed away, picked up her wand and bolted without a second glance.

~0~

Her parents. He was nearly certain, who else would have instilled that so solidly? Her goddamn _parents _had hurt her. To his own surprise, he snarled viciously and kicked a chair over. How _dare _they? How dare someone act so cruel, so uncaring, so monstrous, so...

_No._

He paused, eyes tracing his own scars, which were fewer but still evident.

_Those marks looked as if they had been dealt by a monster, not a human._

_They look like mine._

_Is one of her parents a werewolf?_

_Are they loosing something on her?_

_What are they doing to get those kinds of marks?_

Loathing for his own people built up inside of him as he stepped back into the boy's dorm. Sirius opened an eye and growled, "What were you doing, Moony?"

"Reading." He replied automatically, jaw clenched.

Sirius arched an eyebrow as he sat up. "_Lumos." _His wand illuminated his tired face and fantastically messy hair as he smirked and asked, "Then where's the book?"

Defeated, Remus grumbled, "Shut up." Then pulled his shirt off and edged back into bed, mind far more troubled than it had been when he left.

"No seriously, what happened? Was someone else out there?" Sirius gave him an I'm-not-taking-no-for-an-answer look.

"Yeah."

"Who?" He leaned forward. "Please tell me it was a girl."

"It was." He sighed in exasperation as James sat up, yawning. Luckily Peter seemed to be asleep.

"Finally, Moony's got a girl." James grinned as he slipped his round glasses into place, his hair sticking up even more than usual.

"I don't 'got'anybody." He sighed again.

"Well in that case there's no harm in telling us who was out there." Sirius smiled.

"As long as it wasn't Lily I won't have to kill you." James teased.

"Fine. It was Bellua Dimid."

James's face relaxed. "Dark brown hair, always in her face?"

"Yeah."

"Blue eyes, really quiet? Snivellus sympathizer?"

Remus turned sharply. "Pardon?"

James shrugged. "No big. She just got really miffed about me pushing Snivellus around a little."

The werewolf of the group made a face. "Well, you really shouldn't anyway..."

"Ah, I won't hold anything against her, 'specially if you're interested in her."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not interested in anyone_..._"

"What was she doing out there at 3 am, anyway?" Sirius wondered aloud a cloud shifted and moonlight bathed the room in silver. Instinctively Remus flinched, as he often did whether it was full or not. But when he saw the silvery orb itself, he frowned.

"Why is it so big?" He braced himself against the windowsill so he could put his face inches from the window and get a better look.

"That, my dear Moony, is because it is the _moon_. The moon, if you didn't know, is actually very large..." Sirius said very grandly.

Remus shot him a withering look and said, "No. It should be far more diminished, it looks nearly full."

"Well, it's supposed to be full in a few days but Peter thinks it'll be tomorrow."

Remus whipped around. "Say what?"

James paled. "Oh god, you didn't know? There's a blue moon this month, predicted on Halloween night-"

"Yes, yes, I know, but I didn't know it'd be _early._" He pressed his fingers against his temple. "No wonder I've been so edgy..."

"Relax, Moony. We'll be there all the way." Sirius, who was behind him, patted him on the shoulder.

Remus shot them a smile of thanks, then sat back down on his bed.

"Did you invite her to sit with us?"

He glanced at the still-smiling James. "What?"

"Dimid. Did you invite her to sit with us?"

"Not just then...but yes." Remus admitted.

"Aha!" Sirius pointed accusingly and grinned broadly. "So much for not interested!"

"She sits by herself, I was just being polite." He insisted, but a blush had appeared around his cheeks and he was staring at his feet.

"Uh-huh. _Polite._ And isn't she in all your classes and your partner in everything?" Sirius asked casually.

James's eyes widened. "Uh, _what?!"_

Remus groaned. "How did you find out about that?"

Sirius smirked confidently. "I keep tabs on everyone, mate. How do you think my little revenge tricks are so successful? But especially Gryffindor girls."

"Why?" Remus cocked a brow.

"What can I say? The best deserve the best." He leapt off the bed and into his own.

"Well, I definitely don't deserve _her._" He said softly, thinking of her scars and the pain in her eyes. She deserved someone who didn't lose control every four weeks, or in this case two. She deserved someone as normal and nice and safe as possible, and that wasn't him.

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Moony." James yawned as he removed his glasses and Sirius snuffed his wand out. Remus replied with a light shrug and nuzzled into the warmth of his bed.

"'Night Marauders." He said.

"Night."

"Night, mate."

**Love it? Hate it? Want more! Let me know please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for all the positive feedback! I love you guys!**

**BTW – The lyrics Bellua sang were from Unbreakable by Fireflight, if anyone was going to award me for them. :P**

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter, I'm not J.K. Rowling, I only own my original character and the plotline, blah blah blah...

**Chapter 4, as promised!**

Why, why, _why_ did it rule her life so? She screamed into her pillow like she'd done during her first year and was still sobbing gently as she drifted into troubled sleep. It wasn't as difficult when she didn't _want _to know people, and now that she did her...condition...was all the worse. She knew the full moon was approaching, and her emotions were running high, but even so she knew she hadn't felt so miserable for years. It was a depressing feeling.

Bellua was deeply ashamed of how she'd acted towards Remus, who probably hadn't understood a word of what she'd said. She didn't understand why she'd acted so wild, for the blue moon wasn't for another several days. Nor did she especially want to sit with the Marauders, but it'd be worse to sit alone and have him seek her out. So she asked Lily to tell Professor Flitwick and McGonagall that she was sick and actually did lie in bed the whole morning, clutching her head and whimpering softly. She hated being so fragile – it made her feel like some insecure emo case. The full moon had that effect on her, but the tiny part of her that remained herself despised this mood swing, hated the way tears seemed so eager to spring up, making others think she was weak.

After missing lunch she chose, like most students, to head outside into the sun-kissed courtyard, as it was the only nice day predicted until the chill of fall and expected rain came tomorrow. So she sat on the steps leading out of the main

corridor, then changed her mind and climbed a tree deftly. She'd always liked climbing the trees edging Hagrid's hut in the summertime, and they were far taller and more of a challenge as there were lengths without any branches, just thick bark and knobs to grip. Sports she could barely manage, and she'd always been a failure on a broomstick, but climbing seemed to be her specialty of sorts. Maybe because she was so light, or because she simply loved trees.

She was given a few glances as she scaled the surprisingly large apple tree, but who cared? About seven feet off the ground was a branch thick enough for her to sit on, swinging her legs back and forth and eating a freshly plucked apple.

Maybe...no, wasn't worth it...then again, maybe if she asked nicely, Hagrid would let her look at the Whomping Willow? She'd always been good at Freezing Charms and the Impedimenta spell, and she did have the exciting and possibly rule-breaking hobby of blending spells together, so perhaps...

"Afternoon."

His voice nearly made her fall out of her tree in surprise and she looked down to see Remus Lupin, a hesitant yet amused expression on her face.

"Oh, uh, err, hello." She stammered.

He looked down for moment, then returned eye contact and asked, "Want to come down? Sirius has a Grizzlebee."

"Um, sure." Gracelessly, she scooted off the edge of the branch and leapt off, nearly falling on her face but managing to remain upright without assistance. Remus arched a brow and she said, "Well, I'm down."

But he didn't talk, just held eye contact and stared at her, a depth in his eyes she couldn't understand. Bellua didn't breathe in her anticipation, expecting some sort of comment to emerge from his lips. The silence was different from the other ones. It wasn't thoughtful, or awkward. It was a tacit way to have her recall that morning (as if she hadn't already) and tell her that he was thinking about it was well.

_Say something already...get it over with..._

But he didn't. He just nodded and turned, walking away and gesturing for her to follow. Frowning in confusion, she did so.

"Hey hey, there she is! Bellua, right?" Sirius called from across the courtyard upon seeing her. James and Peter were a little ways away, and both looked at her when she and Remus walked into view. The Grizzlebee the fifth-year held was circular and smoky grey, like an ordinary Muggle Frisbee, but had tufts of hair sticking up at odd angles and a wide, sharp-toothed maw at one end that snapped uselessly at Sirius, who held it by the opposite end therefore kept his hands out of reach. It also had thick legs, tipped with claws and only a few inches long each, which flailed madly in an attempt to escape.

"Ever played with a Grizzlebee?" He asked, and Bellua shook her head so her continued. "Well, it's simple really. Just throw it back and forth, and don't let it bite you because it's nearly impossible to make it let go. It'll get madder and madder as we go, and eventually it's nearly impossible to play without losing your hand." Sirius grinned. "Got it?"

Bellua looked at his hands, and satisfied to see that he had all his fingers, she nodded. Sirius tilted his head. "Can you talk?"

"No." She retorted, making Sirius laugh and James grin from his position a little further back

"Well, then, Marauders and guest, let's get this game started, shall we? Drop the Grizzlebee and you lose." He backed away and Bellua found herself between James and Remus, who was also jogging further away. James neared a little, evening out the circle, and Bellua wondered vaguely if he was still irked by her. He hadn't acted out, so neither did she.

"Here we go!" Sirius hollered, and expertly shot the Grizzlebee through the air at James. She inhaled swiftly as she saw it approaching, and James had to grab it by the opposite side to save his hands from the mad toy.

_Whoosh. _It flew towards Peter, who had more difficulty holding it as it was scratching his hands. Again it sailed, this time to Bellua. She inhaled as it approached mouth-first, and caught it by clapping her hands together on its back and belly. Grunting like some sort of carnivorous animal, it snapped uselessly until it was sent to Remus with a quick flick of her wrist.

Eventually it was shaking and snarling so much it was impossible to hold the Grizzlebee for more than a few moments. It maneuvered far more nimbly than Bellua would've given it credit for and she nearly dropped it three times before managing to give it to Peter, who was bitten – hard – and dropped it, cursing. James laughed at his face as he shook the Grizzlebee off, but was scratched on the next throw and was clearly very impatient for the game to finish so they could go to Madame Pomfrey as soon as possible for their bites.

"They're not venomous or anything," James confirmed when Bellua asked – she had not been bitten, but had dropped it because of its frantic squirming. "They just really sting, like poison ivy. And speaking of which, would one of you _please _lose already?"

And Sirius did, less than a minute after James's playfully irate comment. The demented toy-animal-thing bit deep into his finger and he yelled with shock and waved his hand frantically to send it flying across the courtyard. Remus finally stepped on it, shutting it up.

"I'll take care of this." He said. "You all need to go to the hospital wing.

"You mean we three do. Bells can help you out."

"I'm sorry, what did you call me?" She frowned at him.

He shrugged. "Bellua takes too long to say, y'know? Anyway, you two shut the damn thing up. We'll meet up at Magical Creatures, Remus." Sirius shot his fellow Marauder an odd look as he waved and headed back to the castle.

She chose to watch from a distance as Remus took care of the terrible little animal. It seemed that all one had to do was feed it something and it would shrink its legs in, much a kin to a turtle, and clamp its mouth shut. Tapping it with your wand was the only way to reawaken it, she recalled Riley once talking about a broken Grizzlebee her sister owned that would take hours to put it to sleep and was always incredibly angry when woken – thus making the game all the more challenging.

They didn't seem to be picky, she understood as Remus stepped on it to keep it from escaping and fed it a rolled-up ball of old parchment. Almost immediately it settled, purring as it pulled its legs into the round shape of it and shut its maw so tightly a Muggle wouldn't believe it was there. With that done in a matter of moments, he stood with it tucked under his arm and began heading towards the castle.

"Remus?" She asked softly.

He turned. "Mm?"

"I..." She fiddled with her hands. "I want to apologize for last night. I think I was experiencing an emotional breakdown, and I want you to understand that I am _very _stable and have no form of trauma or condition you should worry about."

He blinked slowly, taking all her words in. Then said slowly, carefully, as if considering every word, "Are you saying I shouldn't care if you're hurting?"

Bellua reddened. "Well, no, but...I just don't want you worrying. My scars...visible and not, are my problem. I can deal with it. Without anyone's help."

"I...okay." Hurt laced his gaze as he turned away and jogged up the stairs. Bellua fought back tears, convincing herself it was the upcoming blue moon making her so emotional, and walked back to the castle.

~0~

Care of Magical Creatures was bad, what with Bellua's Tadfoal refusing to do whatever she wanted it to, but Herbology was worse. The Devil's Snare in the middle of the greenhouse, still too small to be any threat but very irritating, was flailing with all its might and seemed determined not to be pruned. It reminded her vaguely of the Grizzlebee as she edged as silently as possible to the leafy, angry mass. By supper she was grumpy and wet from her shower with her hair in a blue, too-big and cozy hat, and was sitting in her usual spot when Hagrid stepped into view.

_Ask him about the Whomping Willow afterwards, Bells. You need something to take your mind off of things. _She watched the gargantuan man, who was roaring with laughter at whatever Professor McGonagall. The gamekeeper was good-natured and seemed to especially like Gryffindor, but was really good to all the students as long as they were good to him. He'd make a good Care of Magical Creatures teacher, she'd thought when she saw him once tending to the giant squid. Not that she wanted to have a lesson about the giant squid – it still terrified her.

As she watched him, her gaze shifted to McGonagall. The woman's eyes were narrowed as she seemed to skim the Gryffindor, as if searching for someone. Was it her? Perhaps she wasn't easily recognizable, her familiar mass of brown hair hidden under the hat. Maybe she could just stay put, no one would notice her until she slipped out, talked to Hagrid...

No one spoke to her, which she was grateful of. She didn't see Remus but was nearly certain McGonagall had been searching for her. She took the least populated routes, hoping to go through all of this unnoticed. She noticed several teachers, all seeming very stressed about something or other, but managed to avoid them all. She'd never done anything like this, but the adrenaline building up in her gut was _amazing_, coursing through her at the speed of light and driving her steps. Licking her lips with anticipation, she knocked on Hagrid's door, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet and certain her expression was absolutely ridiculous.

Rubeus Hagrid looked down at her, smiling. But his smile dropped when he recognized her big blue eyes.

"Uh, Bellua, isn't it a liddle late for yeh to be wanderin' around outside o' the crypt, knowin' the, uh..." He pointed upwards, at the darkening sky.

She shook her head. "That's not until tomorrow, Hagrid. I wanted to know if I'm aloud to go look at the Whomping Willow."

"Well, o' course you kin _look _at it, but I don't want yeh getting' _near _it. It's a nasty thing, that tree. Nearly killed me the day I planted it." He shuddered, wide shoulders shaking. "Don't be messin' with it, alrighty? Blasted thing's got a temper."

"'Kay." She said, nodding in appreciation.

"An' don't be stayin' out past curfew, got it?" The gamekeeper shouted, and she gave him a backwards thumbs-up as she walked away.

~0~

It was a very beautiful tree. It was also a very evil tree, she decided as it snatched a bird out of the sky and crushed the unfortunate thing between two branches. The sickening _snaps _and _crunches of_ the doomed bluebird's bones told her to be careful and not to step anywhere to the left, where the carcass was thrown. As if losing interest, the willow returned to its original pose afterwards. Bellua felt the adrenaline in her stomach replaced by a cold weight, nestling in her gut and refusing to let go. _Fear, _she knew it as, like the fear of standing in a rollercoaster line, or gripping a broomstick for the first time. It swirled around inside of her and she could barely push it down. _I'm out of range, out of range, it can't reach me. _She repeated in her head until she was almost convinced. Almost.

After several minutes of it not moving, she withdrew her wand and said, _"Accio,"_ gesturing at a fist-sized near the foot of the tree. It shot towards her but the tree was faster, batting it out of the way and sending it hurtling into the air, out of sight.

_Okay. That didn't do anything. _Fascinated, she longed to step forwards but her own nerves refused to grant her wishes. _"Avis," _She tried, summoning a flock of birds from the tip of her wand as they flew in a wide arc towards the Whomping Willow, which eagerly smacked them out of the air. They weren't real creatures – each exploded in a small _poof_ of golden dust – but the tree seemed just as excited to chase them. Its entire shape shifted as the birds darted out and into range of its deadly limbs, but as Bellua watched, the great roots lifted themselves just slightly. But they moved with...restriction. As if despite the tree's obvious freedom from control, it was to keep a certain shape. Bewildered yet curious, she watched the possessed willow until every bird was 'dead' and it returned to its original position.

_What is under there? _She frowned deeply, stepping forward, wand raised. The tree shifted to her, one massive branch hurtling towards her...

_"Engorgio Deprimo!" _She cried, and the spell tripled in size, into a massive cone of wind that burst from her wand, forcing the limb of the tree backwards and throwing the whole thing off-balance. Now she could step forward, see the tunnel underneath...

She gasped aloud just before casting a Freezing Charm at the Whomping Willow, which screeched to a near-halt as if in a slow-motion video. Smirking slightly, she edged down, into the tunnel, lighting her wand non-verbally.

A tunnel. A recently-used tunnel. Grinning with adrenaline once again pumping through her veins, she willed herself to be cautious and not break into an all-out sprint as she marveled at the tunnel's length and obvious use.

_There. _The ground underneath her steepened to form an incline. Her breath caught in her throat as she continued, breaking into a run-

Her stomach lurched. She froze, feeling an all-too-familiar feeling swell in her gut, spreading until she recognized it for what it was.

This was not adrenaline, this was not fear, this was not anticipation.

It was far, far worse.

"No," She whispered. No, it was tomorrow. It had to be tomorrow, she'd read the lunar charts and they'd said it was-

Pain twisted inside of her and she cried out, feeling her blood race yet run cold at once. She quickened her pace, panic threatening to overtake her already-blurring mind. The only word in her mind was _GO, _and she tripped on roots and stones and her own feet several times, once biting the inside of her cheek. The coppery taste did not soothe her – if anything, it was a way to goad the thing on.

_Run, run, run, RUN! _With the word roaring in her head she nearly ran straight into the wall when she found the trapdoor, and wasted no time to yank it open.

A house. She was in an old, abandoned house, and there was someone in it, in the attic, pacing. _No, go, yell, warn them, get them away._ Her thoughts begged, but she could barely move. Her muscles were going to tear, her bones crack, her mind break. And this person would be prey to it-

_There. Stairs. Walk. _Somehow she complied, lurching up them to find the person, a boy in Hogwarts uniform. He was kneeled over, facing away and clearly in pain, but that didn't matter in Bellua's cracking mind. There was a monster preparing to rise to the surface and they were going to be caught in the way.

"RUN!" She screamed, pulling herself into view and waving frantically at the person. "RUN NOW! NOW!"

If they ran, it would be okay, she knew as her eyes unfocused and began to change colour. She could hide in here, wait for the monster to run its course, then go back home. Everything would be okay. Everything would be...

The boy turned, and Remus locked eyes with her.  
His whole body was shivering with suppressed pain. His eyes were bloodshot, and yellow, and _beastly. _

"No," She whispered as her mind faded away.

All she knew for those moments was _agony, _raw agony as every bone snapped, every muscle was ripped from its place to be molded and refitted, her brain leaving no conscious, no space for thought. The werewolf saw nothing but barriers...and prey. There was no in-between, nothing that could be reasoned with. Its only thoughts were h_unt, hunt. Tear, tear, tear. Kill, kill, kill. _And it was all too eager to comply, for nothing else got through to its primal mind.

The two werewolves eyed each other, one larger and stronger, the other coiled on itself, like a tiger, snarling deep in its throat. They had never fought another of their kind before. They had never even _seen _another of their kind before. But every inch of their core was trained for this, their brains wired to rip the flesh off of this challenger.

The monsters shrieked in rage and battled for their lives.

**Cliffhanger AAAAAAAAH!  
Love writing stuff like that...let me know if it was any good :-)  
Oh, and if any of you were wondering, _Engorgio Deprimo _is a combination of the growth spell and the wind spell, supposedly that makes the gust of wind big enough to blow back a branch of the Whomping Willow. If stuff like that doesn't actually _work__, _die-hard fans please don't hate on me...just me know and I'll avoid it in the future.  
R&R for Chapter 5!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you so much for the reviews everyone! I feel all happy inside when I read them :D**  
**BTW - Please let me know if anyone (Especially Severus!) is out-of-character, I don't want to disappoint anyone!**

**DISCLAIMER: Hey, guess what? I don't own Harry Potter! Bet you never saw THAT one coming. **

**Enjoy the somewhat-longer-with-lots-of-unanswered-question-that-will-be-answered-eventually Chapter 5!**

_"Now, students, we will check the quality of this diluted Veritaserum. Veritaserm is one of the most powerful truth serums known to wizards and even a watered down mixture can force one to reveal their deepest secrets." Professor Slughorn announced to the fifth-year Potions class. Then he turned to his test subject._

_"What is your full name?"_

_"It was once Wistera Avalon Meracus, but is now Bellua Dimid." Her jaw clenched as she spoke. Murmurs echo through the room but Slughorn continued. _

_"Why was it changed?"_

_"Because, sir, I was disowned, and my parents chose to erase all proof of my existence in their shame of me."_

_"Why would they do that?" His smile was heartless and the other students didn't even blink._

_"Because I'm a werewolf, sir." A frustrated, shameful tear trickled down her cheek._

_"Oh, really?" His face was...changing, as if a Polyjuice Potion was wearing off._

_"Yes. My name is a base off of something in Latin, you see." She confirmed through gritted teeth._

_"Did you choose this yourself?" His face was certainly shifting now, his hair turning so brown it was nearly black and his eyes glinting steel blue._

_"No. My parents did the day they locked me in the furnace room."_

_"The furnace room?" Skin paling drastically, he smiled now perfect teeth as his nose lengthened slightly and cheekbones were lifted._

_"Yes, sir. That was where I spent most of my time."_

_"Why the furnace room?"_

_"Because no one would hear me screaming, and...that was where my chains were." Another tear to match the first_

_"Chains?" _

_"Yes."_

_"I see." He stepped closer, now a perfect doppelganger of Silas Meracus, blue silk robes and all. "And that must mean someone wanted to keep you in place. Why is that?"_

_"The...the Meracuses feared what I would do if I escaped, even though the door was solid. They overestimated my power, worried what I would do. If I would kill them, or tell everyone how they caged me and...punished me sometimes."_

_"What did they punish you for?"_

_"For..." Her voice broke. "For being a monster. And a disgrace."_

_"Indeed." He smiled. "And now, Bellua, tell me what you are."_

_"I am scarred." Tears sprung from her eyes at her helplessness. "Because no one healed me after my attacks. I am terrified of what people will think, because of my condition."_

_"Yes, and what does that condition, what do those scars make you?"_

_"Imperfect." Her eyes reddened and she bit her lip to keep herself from screaming._

_"And?"_

_"Un...Unlovable." Her tears were as hot as Silas's eyes were cold. He grinned cruelly and said, "But you don't want to believe that, do you?"_

_"No." She whispered, shame burning bright as forty pairs of gleaming eyes stared at her. "Since recently, no."_

_"Really? Well, then, tell me, Half Beast..." His lips were a hair's width from her ear. "Who do you love?"_

Bellua gasped for breath as she rushed back into consciousness, and instead of the warmth of multiple simmering cauldrons and the burn of embarrassment, she felt bitterly cold despite the sweat coating her. Her mind was still playing over her nightmare. It was one she'd had far too many times, as she wondered what people would think, what they would do if they realized what she was...

She did not cry. She did not clutch her head, whimpering, like she'd done last night. Eyes still closed, she breathed slowly, feeling air rush through her lungs as it was drawn in, and exhaled. It wasn't until another twenty seconds of breathing and scrubbing the image of her father from her mind that she finally opened her eyes.

She was still in the attic of the house (if the battered-down, drafty shack could be called a proper house) and all the furniture was ripped to shreds, splinters and scraps of cloth scattered across the rough wooden floor. Like always after her transformation, every fiber of her damp, naked body ached. Her skin burned from multiple scratches, but as she ran her finger along one of the many gracing her left thigh, she realized with horror that these scratches were not dealt by her own claws.

_Oh. _The memory rushed back to her in a flash, and she closed her eyes again as she recalled last night. They had clashed. They had ripped the pale white from each other's flesh for it to be replaced by floods of scarlet. She wondered, briefly, if Remus had survived the night, but if she had, he had to be _somewhere._ Downstairs, maybe.

Something else she to find was her wand, before Remus awoke and searched for her in her, ah, _exposed _state. With her wand she could get herself some clothes and patch up most of her wounds...hopefully. She stood on her trembling legs only for a moment before her knees gave way and she landed painfully on the cold floor, knowing she could not stand again. Crawling was almost worse, since her left knee was slashed along the joint and she winced every time she was forced to put weight on it.

_There. There it is, just a few feet away. _After much more effort and pain than she'd hoped, she held her wand in shaking, slippery hands. Her mouth was dry as sandpaper but she managed to croak, _"Vulnera Sanentur," _Twice. Invisible stitching soothed the injuries in her chest, her back, her face, and her legs. Using a healing spell of such powerful extent, as Madame Pomfrey had specifically trained her, was exhausting, and she was forced to wait another minute until she could say, _"Accio _clothes_." _After a moment's waiting, clothing and undergarments drifted in through the window, as if suspended by a breeze. She _Episkey'd _her arms to patch up the scabs and still-trickling blood, then dressed slowly, enjoying the sense of comfort and warmth the clothing brought. Unlike usual, however, she did not unnecessarily cover her legs, neck and arms, instead tucking the extra-long stockings and v-neck sweater under her right arm and leaving her collar down. It was nice to have a little skin feeling the cool air she found somewhat refreshing now that she was warm. And Remus had already seen her scars anyway, so...

_Speaking of which..._she brushed her hair from her face, smoothed her expression and walked towards the stairs.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

Remus recalled it all too well. He'd skipped Herbology and dinner, waited in the Shrieking Shack, for his friends to come in as they always did, exactly three minutes after his transformation, not giving him time to hurt himself but enough to kick off a little extra adrenaline. As long as he didn't escape, he was fine with that, for it took several minutes of screaming until the werewolf turned on itself.

And then _she_ had come.

His first thought was not terror for himself, but terror for her. There was no fear of her telling every student she passed, or telling Dumbledore she wouldn't allow a werewolf to share a common room. There was only fear for her life, and he wanted to throw her out the window or something, yell for her to run and not look back, but it was too late. The only thin he saw was her eyes, reflecting his raging thoughts perfectly, changing color to become the vicious, crimson gaze of a bloodthirsty animal...

_And he understood now._ He understood the scars, the fear, and the tentativeness that seemed to follow Bellua wherever she went. Understood why the Marauders hadn't come in, as they didn't know whether or not Bellua would consider them as prey or not. They were here now, of course, patching Remus up best they could and helping him into his pants and knowing their Moony couldn't walk all the way back. And it was even less likely that Bellua could.

"Perhaps we should go check on her," James had said, which Sirius had widened his eyes and shook his head to.

"Uh, no, we should probably wait so she can wake up, and uh, cover herself up." Remus had pointed out, gesturing to his lack of clothing.

So they'd decided to give her another ten minutes. Now Remus winced with pain, smiling a little sheepishly with thanks as Peter assisted him with his zipper, as his own hands were slick with blood. He'd barely managed to hold the water bottle they brought before it slipped and clattered to the floor. His body, still very sore, had been marked again and again by Bellua's claws, and he wondered briefly how well she'd managed. The rickety chair he sat on dug into a scratch on his bare back and he would flinch every time he leaned back too far...but he had his wand and his conscience, and that was good enough for now.

Then the creak of stairs announced her just before Bellua stepped into view.

She was not dressed in her usual head-to-toe covering, allowing multiple scars along her legs, arms and neck to show. She appeared tired, but clearly had found means to heal herself almost completely. Everyone stared at her, or more stared at her scars – but Remus watched her face instead, trying and failing to read her calm expression.

Her eyes widened when she saw them all, fear in her grey-blue gaze and her complexion somehow even paler than usual, but her attention immediately fell on Remus when she noticed his injuries. "Oh God-" Her eyes betrayed her worry and she shoved past Sirius to get to the other werewolf, walking right up to him without hesitation and pressing a soft hand to his forehead, thumb on his neck checking pulse. When she stepped back, she said, _"Vulnera Sanentur," _with a flick of her wand. Remus's marred chest began to mend itself with astonishing speed, to the fifth-year's immediate relief as he sighed with pleasure.

"How did you..." James started, but Bellua silenced him with a quick glare as the spell and several more continued to heal Remus's wounds, her hand every now and then tapping him to check if he expressed pain. It wasn't for another several minutes of agonizing silence that she turned to James and said, "I was specifically taught by Madame Pomfrey to master healing spells. I have a sort of knack, you see."

"Ah." _Knack_ didn't even begin to describe it though, Remus thought to himself – he felt exhausted and tender but otherwise it was as if Madame Pomfrey had done it herself, not the short, timid fifth-year.

The silence dragged on awkwardly until Remus said, "Are you okay?" and stood tentatively, accepting his shirt from James.

She shrugged and leaned against the wall. "The usual. Sore, damaged, the like."

He raised an eyebrow. "You seem very calm."

She shrugged again. "I'm not always what I seem." An odd answer, but a suitable one.

"Where do you usually go?" Peter wondered aloud.

"There's an old crypt, a little ways behind Hagrid's place. It's been renovated to suit, my, um..."

"Furry little problem."

She looked at Sirius. "Pardon?"

"That's what we call it in public. I'm pretty sure most of the other students think Remus has got some kind of demented rabbit." He smirked despite the darkness of their conversation, and Bellua allowed a little smile of her own. "Is this, why you have all the, uh, y'know, scars?" He gestured to his arms as he hesitated with the words, to which Bellua made a face and nodded.

To her surprise he clapped his hands together and grinned casually. "Okay, then, glad to have the who's-who – er, who's-_what_ sorted. I'd say we should get out of this dump, ask each other a few questions when we get back, and get to school before we miss lunch."

She froze. "You...you don't..."

James looked at her oddly. "What, you think we'd just leave you out here, Bells?"

She thought about lashing out at him using a pet name, but was too stunned to. "So...you're not going to..."

"What do you take us for?" Remus gave her a crooked smile. "We're okay with you. I mean, _they're _okay with _me,_ right?"

She smiled weakly, not knowing what else to do. "I...thanks."

James snorted, clearly amused. "Seriously, what'd you think we'd do?"

"I don't know. I didn't even expect you to _be here, _let alone be okay with it."

Sirius rolled his grey-green eyes. "We're not hypocrites...most of the time."

She smiled wider as they each slipped through the trapdoor and into the tunnel to the Whomping Willow, three of the Marauders chatting about who-knows-what, her and Remus quiet. The light of Sirius and Peter's wands were the only guide they had, and Bellua found herself nearly tripping several times.

As they walked, she noticed Remus falling back a little. Getting the hint, she slowed down casually until they were side-by-side, further behind than the others, and he leaned in and said softly, "Is this why your friends, per quote, _hate you now?_"

"Yeah." She glanced up at his face, now easily picking out the thin ridges of scars. "Is this why you're nicknamed Moony?"

"Yep." His soft brown hair fell in his face and she took the time to notice just how green his eyes were, flecked with blue and gold and brown but still very green. In her own mind they were far prettier than hers, but if she said that he would probably stop talking to her, or think her odder than she was, so she kept the comment to herself and instead stumbled over a thick root. Remus caught her arm before she fell and hoisted her back to a wobbly stand and she shot him a smile of thanks as they neared the surface.

"Uh, Remus?" She turned to look at him as the five fifth-years stepped into sunlight.

He turned. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry for freaking out yesterday. I get all emo when the full moon approaches, and even so it was a bloody childish thing to do, thinking you wouldn't find out one way or another."

He appeared to think about this, then nodded. "I don't hold it against you if that's what you mean."

"So are we, like...friends now?"

He gave her another crooked smile, squinting against the glaring light of the morning sun. "Guess so."

"I should probably apologize to James for slapping him the other day."

He hid his bark of laughter in a cough so James wouldn't hear. "I'm sorry?"

"So that's a yes, then."

He managed a nod, seeming very amused by the whole thing.

Bellua felt far happier than one would expect after a transformation as she and the Marauders headed for the hospital wing, avoiding as many students as possible. To no surprise, most of the teachers had been panicking when they couldn't find one of their werewolves, but she didn't receive _too _much lecture. The wounds she hadn't managed to patch up were fixed with a few flicks of Madame Pomfrey's wand. Bellua kept glancing at Remus, fearing she hadn't healed him properly, or she'd scratched something serious, but her fears were for naught as they both walked from the infirmary, sore but intact. It was Wednesday, meaning mornings off, so hadn't missed any classes, but Bellua's skirt was as filthy as Remus's pants.

But just before they parted to go to their dormitories, she called, "Remus?"

"Mm?" He turned, eyebrow arched questioningly.

"Obviously, the other Marauders figured out your 'furry little problem'," She started, making hand quotes around 'furry little problem'.

"Obviously."

"Then..." She tilted her head questioningly. "Who else knows?"

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

"I didn't see you at breakfast today."

Bellua nearly fell from the tree with an undignified yelp of surprise and looked down to see Severus Snape.

"I slept in," She lied.

He raised dark eyebrows but didn't comment on her reply. "Can I sit here?"

"It's not my tree."

He took that as a _yes, _and sat carefully; adjusting his robes so any wetness of the ground wouldn't sink into his trousers. It hadn't rained but a warning for later that day was set, and Severus wanted to get outside while the good weather lasted. Apparently Bellua had the same notion, he thought to himself as he withdrew a massive book for Herbology. The author had somehow filled over eight hundred pages on one genre of _plants_, which he found nearly impossible to understand. _How can one dedicate so much time and effort to something that isn't even magical? _And yet this notion was whisked away quickly in the whirlwind of thoughts raging through his raven-haired head. He tried to stare at his homework but found it impossible to concentrate, what with so many questions buzzing around in his mind. So eventually he sighed, stood up and said aloud, "Can you come down?"

She blinked at him from her position about seven feet from the ground. "Why?"

"I want to talk to you."

"I can hear you from up here."

"Yes, but so can everyone else." And true enough, although the Marauders didn't seem to be out and about, practically ever other student with spare time was enjoying what looked to be the last of their surprisingly warm October days. Halloween was tomorrow, to everyone's delight, but it was forecasted to be dreary and damp. The courtyard was, as usual these days, packed.

She sighed, and a moment later she landed in front of him none too gracefully but managing to stay upright. When she'd brushed the hair out of her face best she could, she folded her arms over her chest and said simply, "Okay, I'm down."

"Look at this," He turned and dug through his bag, returning the Herbology book and searching frantically for the copy of _Advanced Potion-Making. _When he finally found it, he drew it into sight and flipped through several pages until reaching the near-back.

"Why are..." He flipped through hastily, stopping at a marked page. "Wolfsbane, powdered moonstone, Mercury and several other rare and volatile ingredients we would never use bookmarked?" He showed her the book, an exact replica of hers, page flipped to a picture of a violet-flowered Wolfsbane plant with small black text describing the plant and its uses. On every spare inch of the page were hastily scribbled notes and intricate equations written in Bellua's convoluted writing, some of the words so small and smudged only she could read them. "And you want to mix these? Do you know how dangerous that is?"

She blushed softly and looked at her shoes. "Of course. But it's for a good reason."

"I'm not wondering if you _should. _I'm wondering if you _can._"

She pursed hers lips, clearly a little embarrassed. "Well, that part I haven't quite figured out yet."

"Bellua, what exactly are you trying to make?"

He watched her grey-blue eyes, which revealed nothing but the fact that she was hiding something. "Well, I heard Vincent Damocles talking about a theory he had, about a potion, but he said it was far too dangerous to try and he'd get expelled. It was just a wild idea, no structure behind it, because, well, you've seen him in class, we wouldn't know where to start. But _I _do. I just haven't figured out all the fine details yet."

"And this potion's effects are...?"

She hesitated before answering, glancing over her shoulder to make sure they weren't being overheard, "It fights the symptoms of lycanthropy."

His dark eyes widened. "_What?"_

"Now, you have to let me explain," She hurried. "The Ministry is really heartless to lycanthropes, and there's been talk of an anti-lycanthrope legislation in the Ministry, just an idea, but still. It's going to be nearly impossible for victims to get work if that revolting legislation gets passed, and the potion doesn't actually _cure _them. The theory is that they will keep their minds during the full moon, so won't go killing or biting anyone. I really doubt it's going to _cure _them, but it's a start for people who are suffering prejudice for what they can't control." Her voice dropped even further. "And I know about Remus Lupin."

His eyes could not get any wider so instead he blanched, mouth slightly ajar. Of course he knew - he'd seen the monster himself as it screamed into the sky. It was only because of James Potter, to his disgust, that he still had his life – and his humanity. But how did _Bellua _find out?

After a good three seconds of thought and silence, Severus shut his mouth tightly and said, "Come with me." He turned and gestured with a pale hand, and she followed nervously. They headed back, across the courtyard and into the abandoned Dueling Room, which was still as sad-looking and dark as ever.

"They're reopening this, you know." He said softly.

"Really?" She blinked, surprised. "I suppose that makes up for getting rid of the trees."

He frowned, not as disappointed as Bellua about the vanishing of the old trees but displeased all the same. But his mind would not be swayed and he closed the door behind them. "Tell me what you know." He said simply.

She sighed. "I've pretty much told you everything. I haven't actually gone forward with it, I still need a silver cauldron and mine is pewter-"

"Silver cauldron?" He frowned again.

"Silver doesn't actually hurt lycanthropes like it does in Muggle stories, but I'm wondering if there is a connection. Plus, silver is commonly connected with lunar ceremonies or the moon itself, but is rarely mixed with moonstone or moonseed. Mercury was often mistaken for silver by Muggles and sometimes even wizards in medieval times, thus the name Quicksilver. Wolfsbane – or Acconite - is poisonous, but many legends of it revolve around it being especially dangerous to lycanthropes, even the scent will drive them away apparently. And a Homorphus Charm returns an Animagus to their original state, so it should work on diagnosed people-"

"Why do you keep calling them that?" Confusion was evident in his tone.

"What do you mean?"

"You never call them _werewolves. _Lycanthropes, victims, diagnosed people, like you're avoiding the blunt term."

"It's an opinionated word I'm sure any _werewolf _will agree they don't favor." She deadpanned, eyes narrowed.

He'd hit a soft spot, he realized, so changed the subject. "The potion actually sounds possible."

Her eyes sparked with hope. "Really? Well, I guess you would know, you get such high marks in Potions."

He almost allowed a smile. Almost. "There are a few flaws, though. You mentioned fine details...how many?"

"Well, my guess is that any disturbance of even the slightest offset in timing or heat will result in ruin, considering how poisonous Acconite is. And the moonstone has to be concentrated enough, and the silver cauldron can only be so thick..." Her face fell and she smiled mirthlessly. "Except that I don't actually have one."

"I do." He murmured.

Her head snapped up. "You do?"

"Yes, Professor Slughorn gave it to me so I could delve into some of my own creations." He only considered it for a moment. "If you let me help you, you're welcome to borrow it."

She grinned widely and clapped her hands together, laughing a little childishly. "Oh God, that would be amazing!"

A ghost of a smile danced along his lips. "So that's a yes?"

"Yes. Oh wow, thank you so much." She inhaled deeply as if she feared she'd forget to breathe, then said, "Oh, and I need to apologize."

He blinked, tiny smile dropping. "What for?"

"For being so moody yesterday. I wasn't myself, it wasn't your fault." She was handing out an awful lot of apologies, she thought to herself, faintly amused.

The smile returned surprisingly easily. "It's...it's alright. I shouldn't have pried, anyway."

She nodded, beaming widely just before he stomach growled pleadingly and she blushed. "Oh, right, food. I'll see you later, then, Sev."

He flinched openly. "What?"

"Oh...I didn't know...I'm sorry..." She stammered, seeing the pain in his eyes. Severus had not given up trying to apologize to Lily and possibly never would, but Lily had stopped denying him and just ignored him altogether. She had been the only one ever to call him Sev...the only one Severus would've _let _call him a pet name without being cursed.

But to his own astonishment, he shook his head. "No, it's okay. I don't mind."

She relaxed, then nodded a little awkwardly. "I'll see you, then."

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

What had happened? Severus didn't even acknowledge his Slytherin friends as he sat in his usual spot among them for lunch. He hadn't seen Bellua as he had entered a little later than usual, and was too furious with himself to eat. He'd agreed to meet up with a Gryffindor, brewing a possibly illegal potion to help those..._half-breeds._ He'd let her get away with calling him _Sev, _something no one else would've dared call him. Was he going soft? Was it because he was beginning to lose hope with Lily, and he needed someone else? Was he truly that dependant?

But it wasn't about Lily, was it? For the first time in a while, the Gryffindor girl in his mind was not red-haired with brilliant emerald eyes, beautiful white skin and a personality that had captured Severus's heart. The fifth-year in his mind did rarely grinned, was sickly-pale (though not as much as Severus) with messy chocolaty hair and eyes that were far from captivating. This girl only smiled, only stood out when she was truly happy, like when he'd seen her scale the massive oak outside of Hagrid's hut or practice Transfiguration. That quiet power inside of her, the way she seemed so two-faced...it was something few could pick out as anything but shyness and secret-keeping. But Severus recognized it as the way of someone who had suffered and conquered, someone who held enough strength to live with their flaws, to stay true to themselves, and to survive.

Did that mean she was stronger than him, as he had turned to the Death Eaters?

That morning, Severus had decided he was going to be cruel. He chose to use her to discover that treasure trove of secrets buried under her surface. He had not wanted a friendship or anything so affectionate, so _weak_. He had wanted the nagging questions in his mind to go away, to find out whether or not she could outsmart him, and to solve the mystery he'd only begun to unfurl. Yet try as he might to convince himself to stick to his original plan, he knew that he'd had his chance and hadn't asked her how she'd found out Lupin's 'condition', or where she'd gotten those scars she covered up so well, or why she was so obsessed with _werewolves_. He feared what she'd say; if he hurt her it would be terrible...

_Wait, what? No. No. I'm just using her, so she can tell me about the Marauders and maybe I can take credit for this potion, figure out who or what she is. _But a part of him, small but very loud in his head, protested. Maybe he wasn't just using her, maybe he _would _care if she never spoke with him again, because the thought of hurting her, losing the only Gryffindor still supporting him, was suddenly far less appealing even if he learned all she was hiding.

But he would be resolute with it, despite his weak-willed protests. Any Death Eater would mock him endlessly for this flickering emotion, so he knew he must work around it. It was not going to stop him from finding out what had pestered him since they first met.

What was Bellua hiding beyond her scars?

**R&R for Chapter 6!**


	6. Chapter 6

**SO sorry for the wait, everyone...please don't hate on me, I've just been really busy around here, so much crap to take care of...**

**I'mma just skip the disclaimer because it takes too long to write...**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed BTW! I really appreciate it and feel all bad for keeping you waiting...But I finished it! (Finally) Chapter 6! Hopefully it's not suckish...**

"Hey, Bells! Come sit with us!"

She stopped in the middle of her bun slathered in butter and shook her head. _No, don't be ridiculous. There's a different Bells. I've never been invited anywhere, they don't actually want me to-_

"BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELL S!"

_Oh, my God..._

"C'mon, I know you can hear me!" Sirius yelled at the top of his lungs, clearly not caring who heard as he waved his arms frantically to get her attention and earned stares from almost everyone. "GET OVER HERE!"

She couldn't groan with exasperation – it was just too funny. Hiding an elated grin at not sitting alone, she picked up her food and headed to the opposite end of the table, where James was in silent laughter and Remus was smiling, cheeks red from embarrassment. Sirius grinned wickedly at Bellua as he scooted aside so she could sit between him and Remus.

"Hi James, Remus." She shot Sirius a look. "Mr. Subtlety."

"Hey, Bells, glad you could make it, I was worried you wouldn't hear." James spread his arms wide in welcome as Sirius laughed at their words.

"You honestly thought you could get away with sitting over there?" the curly-haired boy smirked, then pointed a little ways down the table. "Oh, and don't look now, you're getting glared at."

Confused, she leaned forward, just a little, to see Claire and Riley duck their gazes away from her. Despite herself, she smiled. "I'm pretty sure _everyone _is staring at me. And besides, I don't care if they're mad at me."

"Not I." Sirius said happily. "Except that I'm paired with one of them for Charms and she can't cast for the life of her, and I dearly hope she doesn't _bust a move, _per se."

Bellua snorted, deciding _not _to imagine Claire's flirtatiousness, and said, "Where's Peter?"

"Sick. At least he _says _he's sick, I'm pretty sure he's just terrified of going to Transfiguration." James replied, and Bellua suddenly remembered what she'd wanted to tell him.

"Oh, James, I should apologize for, uh, y'know, slapping you earlier." She winced at Sirius's hilarious expression, but Remus just smiled and James laughed.

"Ah, it's no big, you're too pretty to stay mad at." He grinned as she attempted to roll her eyes but blushed mid-roll.

"I thought you were interested in Lily, James." She pointed out lightly.

He shrugged. "Yeah, and you're Moony's girl anyway."

Remus choked on his sandwich and Bellua stared incredulously at James. "What?!"

"What?" James appeared as bewildered as she did, but there was a smile in his eyes as Sirius snorted with amusement.

"I'm nobody's _girl_, thank you very much," She said as casually as possible, acting as if she hadn't been utterly stunned, as Sirius swung his right arm around Bellua's shoulder. "Ah, don't mind James," He said, although he'd noticed how alike Bell's reaction had been compared to Remus's a few nights back. "He's just playing matchmaker because he hasn't got a girlfriend."

"Neither do you," She retorted.

"Well, yes, but I don't go goggling after girls like he does. _They _come goggling after _me._"

"Well said, Padfoot." James mock-bowed to him.

"Why thank you, Prongs." Sirius saluted him with his free arm, as he hadn't moved the one lazily resting on Bellua's shoulders.

"Yes, I've been meaning to ask you about that..." She said carefully, as if it was a delicate subject. "Do your nicknames mean anything? I mean, Remus is Moony, right? What about Padfoot, and Prongs and Wormtail?"

"Ah, well _that's _where it gets confidential. We could always do some negotiating, though." James replied.

"_Negotiating?_" She didn't like the sound of that.

"Yeah, _negotiating_, bargaining, like. Information-wise, though."

"Information..." She trailed off.

"Oh yeah, we got heaps of questions for you. You're a right mystery, Bells." Sirius said it as if it was no big deal, but Bellua felt cold inside.

"I'm...not okay with that." She murmured, fingering her collar.

"Hey," Sirius pulled her into a side-hug for a moment before letting her go and returning both hands to eating his food. "You seriously think we're going to care about your past?"

"Yes." She replied simply, and James snorted.

"As if. Have you ever met Sirius's parents?"

She frowned. "No."

"Well, you really don't want to." Sirius's face darkened. "They're the most stuck-up, black-hearted, pure-blooded freaks to walk the earth." The bitterness in his tone surprised her.

"And if you haven't noticed, none of us are particularly _normal._" Remus pointed out quietly. He hadn't spoken much, she knew, and vaguely wondered why. "And I'll bet five Galleons we can surprise you more than you us."

Bellua raised her eyebrows and turned to the other fifth-year. "Is that a challenge?"

"Sounded like," James grinned.

"Then I accept." She returned the smile and grabbed her bag. "Although keep in mind that I haven't _got _five Galleons. See y'all later." And she turned and headed out, questions raging in her head about the strange conversation. Was accepting that offer the right decision? Bellua didn't know, but apparently her loneliness had won out over her paranoia. Maybe it _would _be fun to trade stories...she had a few of her own, obviously. And like Remus pointed out – who ever said the Marauders were _normal?_

Remus watched her go, backpack swinging from her right shoulder and hair in her face as always. A smile tugged at his lips and he found himself wishing she had stayed longer, wishing he'd spoken up more, talked to her more.

_Because she's a friend, that's all. Right?_

As soon as she was out of sight, Sirius turned and smirked. "Moony my friend, you'd better make a move or I am going to whip-"

He didn't finish because Remus had kicked him off of the seat.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

Yes, she wasn't exactly _good _at Herbology, but Care of Magical Creatures was as bad as it could get_. _The fifth-years had been finishing up their work on the Hippocampi, all knee-deep in water and trying to convince their designated creatures to come closer. Bellua's assigned creature, the second-largest one with the star-shaped mark on its forehead and fluorescent orange tag through its ear, seemed determined to stay as far away from her as possible, swimming laps around the edge of the enclosure set up in Black Lake and opposing everything she asked it to do despite its knowledge of vocal commands. There were several moments where she was compelled to whip out her wand and cast a Freezing Charm on it so it'd simply _stay still, _but Professor Kettleburn was very strict on the matters. It didn't help that five Slytherin were laughing every time the half-grown water horse slipped from her hands. Her face burned; she knew it was the werewolf scent that startled the creatures, and in a way they were as bad as people. "Damnit, I'm not a monster _all _the time, so just hold still," She growled under her breath as the Death Eaters snickered at her. _Death Eaters, _such a dark name for nothing more than a Dark-Arts-obsessed, purist pack of fifth and sixth-years who wanted nothing but trouble. _The Marauders _was far catchier, she thought to herself with a small smile, than Death Eaters.

_Severus is with them._

Her smile dropped. He took Arithmancy instead of Care of Magical Creatures, and thus wasn't in this class. But he still sided with the pureblood fanatics all the same.

_Is it such a good idea to include him in this potion? _Then again, she couldn't do it without him. She'd try to meet up after dinner, ask him exactly how he planned to do this. They'd need space, and ingredients nearly impossible to come across in fifth year. And although Severus was clearly not above befriending nasty people, he was (as far as she knew) a very studious person and would not risk detention, let alone expulsion. Hopefully the Death Eaters wouldn't push him into doing anything rash. They had seemed more annoying of late – usually they left her well alone and barely even noticed her, to her immediate relief. Hopefully they didn't try anything, as she'd been trying to be extra good for the teachers to make up for causing them so much panic last full moon.

To her delight, her complete stillness of being lost in thought calmed the skittish sea creature, and it edged forward as its curiosity overrode its fear. Elated, she extended her hands, allowing it to sniff delicately, dart back as if expected her to lash out, then approached again, more relaxed. Smiling gently, she withdrew her water-proof parchment with her free hand as the other gently petted the creature's nose, which it seemed to like. Although she expected it to be scaly, it was velvety like a real horse's, which she wrote down with her Water-Proof, Pre-Inked quills Professor Kettleburn had passed around. When she asked the hippocampus to turn, it did, allowing her to check its sex, length and tail width. Her timid smile stretched into a wide grin as she ran her fingers through its – his - mane, barely realizing that she was now belly-deep in the frigid water as far away from any other students. She didn't care, as now she was out of hearing range.

Its star-shaped marking was rather pretty, and she chose to nickname it Hercules for the constellation. Now, all the needed to do was check it for unique markings, growth defects and scars, and the examination would be complete-

"Oops! He got away!" One of the Death Eaters yelled shrilly as a massive hippocampus crashed straight into Bellua and a hoof connected with her chest a moment before the entire animal collided with her and forced her underwater. Hercules reared on its tail to fight against the beast and the thrashing hooves of the battling creatures plunged into the water inches from her head as she fought against the pain over her chest.

She was falling, falling into the numbing cold and everything was numbing save the odd warmth emanating from her chest. Her quick mind told her that she'd broken two ribs, maybe three, as hippcampi had much more powerful legs than horses. If her sternum had been damaged, perhaps splinters had pierced her heart. Her lung was almost definitely punctured, and she marveled at how clear her mind was as she brought up these conclusions. Perhaps she going to die, before anyone reached her, before she graduated, before she finished the Wolfsbane potion, before she worked up the nerve to discover the end of that dream she'd had yesterday:

_Who do you love?_

_No. No, don't be ridiculous. You can get out...just cast the spell..._

Her heartbeat roared in her head and everything moved in slow motion, the pounding of the hooves, the thrashing tails and bubbles as she struggled to withdraw her wand, mentally casting a _Lumos Maxima _spell with shaking hands. To what was almost surprise, the massive orb of light shone through the water like a beacon, startling both animals and frightening them away just as Remus hauled her out of the water.

"Bellua!" He gasped. She barely heard him, her ears ringing and full of water as she slipped into unconsciousness.

"BELLUA!" He yelled, lifting her bridal style and charging through the water as Kettleburn struggled to hold the animals still and several more students charged towards Remus, who was pale as Bellua and panicking.

"I need a healer, quick!" He cried, running as fast as he could as students swarmed around her, staring at the growing patch of red over her heart. Her eyes fluttered open and shut again just as he reached the shore set her on a patch of grass as one student ran for Madam Pomfrey.

Bellua wasn't responding or breathing, and the blotch of blood over her heart was steadily growing. Kettleburn shoved students out of the way and flicked his wand. _"Anapneo!" _He gasped, and the fifth-year's eyes shot open and she coughed violently, vomiting water all over the ground. She blinked wearily and said quietly, "Am I dead?"

Remus exhaled in relief and shook his head. "No. No, you're not." He was as drenched as she was, and his robes hung tightly to his lean frame.

"Then my sternum's not broken." She mumbled matter-of-factly, as if discussing a textbook question. "I think my ribs are...might've punctured my lung..." She coughed wretchedly again and asked in a weak voice , "What's that noise?"

'That noise' which was likely muted by Bellua's water-filled ears, was Sirius, who was yelling at a girl with ugly black hair and a pretty yet cruel face. A Death Eater.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?!" Sirius roared furiously, hands clenched into white fists at his sides and nearly drawing as much attention as Bellua had. "YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST ATTACK OTHER STUDENTS?!"

"I didn't try to, you idiot!" She retorted, but there was an edge of panic to her otherwise aloof tone. "Why the hell would I do that?"

"Oh, so the beast just body-slammed her for no reason?! When they've NEVER done it before?!"

"Listen, blood-traitor," The girl hissed, leaning forward. "Drop it, okay? Everyone's alive, no was hurt too badly, so back off before-"

"SHE COULD'VE BEEN KILLED!" He roared, making her jump with surprise. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

He drew his wand just as Kettleburn stepped in. "Hey, hey, HEY. That'll be enough, thank you." He looked at them both, but his jaw clenched as his gaze rested on the girl. "Both of you are to come with Remus and I to escort Ms. Dimid to the hospital wing. Sirius is right – this was a very, _very _close call." He gestured with his hand, and the two followed, glaring daggers at each other as Kettleburn conjured a floating stretcher. "Class dismissed," He added as Bellua was escorted by the group of four, two of which looked startlingly alike.

"Remus," She murmured, coughing again – this time specks of blood dotted her shirt.

"Yes?" He looked at her, eyes filled with unsuppressed worry. She felt a rush of appreciation for his concern.

"Thanks."

He smiled and patted her arm gently. "Just stay alive, okay?"

"Will-" She coughed again. "-Will do." She shot another look at the two other fifth-years as they refused to look at each other, Sirius beet-red, the girl's dark eyebrows furrowed in a vicious glare. "Have they met?"

Remus made a face. "That's Bellatrix Black. Sirius's cousin. I'll explain the rest when you're not coughing up blood, okay?"

"Okay." She smiled, feeling a little calmer, and choosing not to mention that Remus's hand was still on her arm as she slipped again into unconsciousness.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

She awoke for the second time much later, in the hospital wing. Her ribs had been removed with the mildly risky _Brackium Emendo_ spell so that Madam Pomfrey could mend her lung, which had indeed been punctured. It was after that and some blood-replenishing she had been ordered to drink the repulsive Skele-Gro, but that was all she remembered. Had Remus been there when she'd been healed? What about Sirius, or McGonagall? What day was it, even?

She inhaled deeply, pleased to realize that the pain in her chest was all but nonexistent, although she felt thick binding around her torso. She'd been redressed in dry, clean robes. To her left was a small stack of treats, to her immediate delight, with little notes on them to determine who had gifted her. To her right, sitting in a chair, was not Remus or a Professor, but Severus.

She blinked wearily and peered at him through sleep-heavy eyes. "Hi," She managed.

He gave her a small, lopsided smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Just tired, really." She looked down to see her collarbone and forearms exposed, revealing her scars. And yet she didn't feel ashamed of them because he already knew, didn't he? She returned her gaze to him. "What day is it?"

"Thursday. You missed Astronomy and Potions." He replied simply.

"I...oh." She managed. Missing Potions meant it was at least three o'clock – she'd been out cold for nearly twelve hours. And it meant she'd fallen behind on antidotes and Jupiter's moons. But she was more relieved she was okay than anything. "Thanks for visiting me."

He smiled. "Well, I have a surprise for you." And he withdrew a slip of parchment which read,

**_I, Professor Horace E. F. Slughorn, hereby give students Severus Snape and Bellua Dimid access to the Potions classroom from seven to nine p.m. on weekdays, for uses of potion making._**

**_H. Slughorn_**

"I'm going to get whatever I can at Hogsmeade this weekend, but I don't know how we're going to get aconite or moonstone," He made a face. "Unless we steal it, of course."

"They sell aconite at Dogweed & Deathcap in Hogsmeade, but the moonstone..." She frowned. "Yes, you're right. Maybe we should try without it first."

"It's very potent, I doubt the potion would be effective without it," He mused.

"Yes, but it's worth a try, isn't-"

"_Why _is it worth a try?" He interrupted, frowning. "Why are you so interested in working this?"

"Why shouldn't I?" She insisted. "It's a completely plausible and very humane thing to do, plus it'll be a wild success. I daresay there isn't a werewolf out there that won't want it."

"I...I suppose." He did not relax though. "Is one of your relatives a werewolf?"

Her expression darkened. "No. No, they would rather kill themselves. They're very purist."

"You're a pureblood?"

"Yes." She fiddled with her robes and handed the permission slip back to Severus.

"I would've heard of your family, though. Dimid, I've never heard the name."

She smirked wryly. "No, you wouldn't have."

"Why wouldn't-" He didn't finish because the doors opened and Remus and James walked in.

James's face twisted with utter loathing. "What are _you _doing here, Snivelly?"

"He's visiting me," Bellua answered. "And not hexing me or anything, so lay off." She looked at Severus and said softly, "Maybe you should, uh..."

"Yeah." He stood and nodded to her. "Get well soon." Then with a swish of his black robes, he left – but not without shooting James a nasty look.

Remus walked over to her as James watched the Slytherin leave. "What was that little Death Eater doing here?" He growled.

"I already told you, he was visiting me," She replied.

"Why?"

"Because we're friends. I'm not asking _you _to be, so relax. I'm feeling much better now, by the way. How are you all? And where's Sirius?"

"Detention," James replied. "Apparently fifty points from Slytherin wasn't good enough for him. He planted a Dung-bomb in their common room. No idea _how _he got it there." He made a face.

She blinked. "So she was caught? That Bellatrix person?"

"She got detention too. I'd hate to be the teacher with them." Remus said. "But really, how are you feeling?"

"Terribly and utterly bored. How about you?"

James smirked as he walked over. "Splendid. But I was only supposed to stay for a little while, Remus has told me twelve times today to finish my Astronomy homework before I get detention."

"Not _twelve,_" Remus rolled his eyes.

"Eleven then."

"You're exaggerating..."

"Ten and a half?" James grinned wickedly and Bellua couldn't help but laugh as he put up his hands in mock defeat. "Fine, fine, I get the message. No one wants lonely ol' James. See ya, Bells."

He strolled off, whistling and swinging his arms in a ridiculous attempt to appear casual. Remus snorted with amusement as he left. "He's weird, that one."

"I noticed." She looked at him. "Sorry I missed Potions. I hope you didn't have too much trouble."

He shook his head. "Well, you are a lot better at it than me...but it was just antidotes, nothing terrible."

She relaxed. "Well, good."

"I didn't know you and Snape were friends."

She shrugged. "We just have stuff in common, that's all. And I gave him a book once."

"_Advanced Potion-Making?_" Remus raised his eyebrows.

She reddened slightly. "Yes."

He bit his lip thoughtfully before saying, "I really should work harder to stop them. But you'd understand, I guess, considering how hard it is for us to make friends, I didn't want to risk it..." He trailed off, avoiding eye contact.

"Hey, I get it. I mean, they really ought to _stop_, but I understand your reasons." She reached out and put her hand on his arm, the same way he'd done it yesterday. He smiled somewhat crookedly at her, and patted her hand with his own.

"Hey, about the whole 'Moony's girl'..." He blushed and played with his fingers.

"Oh. Of course not, it'd actually slipped my mind, what with all this going on. I didn't take it seriously, if that's what you mean." But then why did she feel a pang of disappointment? It was good to get the awkwardness out of the way, wasn't it?"

"Oh. Well, yes, of course." His own voice echoed her disappointment and he blushed deeper. But no, she must've imagined it, right? He didn't want anything more, especially from _her, _when he could get so much better. But he wasn't finished.

"Hey, I know we're kind of loud, and I'm socially awkward and broke, and I'm not sure if you even considered it, or even _want _to, but...would you like to go to Hogsmeade with us Marauders?"

She could not stop staring, and her mouth felt like sandpaper. When her silence dragged on for too many seconds, he added hastily. "I get if you, want to, y'know, go alone, but since you're our friend and-"

"Oh, stop making excuses, Remus. _Of course _I'll go with you...guys." She blurted the words without even thinking, adding the extra _guys _in case it sounded like...well, like a date.

He brightened immediately, hope making his eyes shine. "Really?"

"Really really. Now go away, I'm supposed to be sleeping right now." She squeezed his hand before he stood, and he smiled at her before stepping out.

This was good. She'd be going with her friends, the Marauders. Just friends, hanging out and having fun, which was what she wanted, right? She forced a smile as she reached for a glass of water., but her lips refused to stay up.

_Just friends, hanging out and having fun, which is all I want, right? _

Then why did she nearly feel like crying?

**PLZ let me know if anyone's out of character, I'm not as much of a super-fan as I'd like to be.  
Chapter 7 coming (hopefully) soon!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Well, here it is: Chapter 7! I'm all excited about this one...:P  
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN...Ah, forget it.**

**R&R for Chapter 8!  
**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The days had turned cold fast, but few spirits were dampened, as Hogsmeade weekend and Halloween approached. Hogsmeade was a quaint little town, with short streets and charming shops. It enjoyed a steady stream of Hogwarts students every few weekends, which was a guarantee of good business for Honeydukes, the Three Broomsticks and Zonko's Joke Shop. The Shrieking Shack had once been a source for dares no one would perform and whispers of what sort of ghosts or monsters lived there. Now, when Bellua glanced at a trio of older students planning to find out how close they could get to it, she found herself amused instead of worried for them.

"So you're a ghost, too?" She glanced back at Remus, who had also noticed the sixth-years.

"Apparently." He smiled at her, but there was a flicker of doubt in his gaze and he knew it. Hopefully she would think it was because he worried for the sixth-years, and not because of the other three Marauders behind them. He'd wanted some time just to chat, see her views on their mutual 'problem', and most definitely be alone. But he'd chickened out at the last minute, asked her to go with _all _of them, as _friends_, curse the word...

So lost in thought, he barely noticed the others walking forward until Bellua called his name, shaking him back into reality. As they strolled into town, James suggested Honeydukes, which they all agreed on. Since when had fifth-year students denied a visit to the glorious candy shop, anyway? Bellua knew she was smiling as she gazed with a mixture of wonder and delight at all of the treats, licking her lips without thinking as her blue eyes fell on the pyramid made up of Chocoball packs. If there was anything she absolutely _adored_, it was chocolate, and she smiled as she reached for the top pack.

Before she could reach it, however, a pale hand darted out and took it. A little surprised, she turned to see Bellatrix Black, who was eyeing her as if she was a particularly ugly hag. Up close Bellua could see that Black's robes were made of the darkest and finest material money could buy, and her hair was only such a fantastic mess because it was meticulously styled to look so. Her eyes were nearly as dark as her hair and glinted with cruel light.

Bellua refused to let herself be fazed by the sneering girl. "Hi. I haven't seen you since you attacked me the other day. You like Chocoballs?" She asked calmly.

Black rolled her eyes and stepped forward until she was so close, Bellua could nearly smell her breath. "I've seen you with Snape." She hissed in that shrill, dangerous voice. "Sneaking around. He visited you in the hospital wing, didn't he?"

"So?" Her face remained expressionless – no way was this _creep_ going to find out about their potion.

"What are you two up to?" Black asked as if it was the direst question she would ever ask.

"We're doing a project together, is that so bad?" She frowned, as if innocently confused when she knew there was far more secrecy to this 'project'.

"In fact, it is." She leaned even closer forward, her hot breath rancid on Bellua's face. "He's a Death Eater now, he doesn't talk with _your _kind anymore unless there's something in it for him."

"_My kind_?" Bellua repeated.

"Your. Kind. I might've not tried to _kill_ you but you going to the hospital wing really made my day."

"So you enjoy losing fifty points for Slytherin?" She asked, but her voice was hollow. "What's your point."

"My point is that you'd better watch it, you filthy Mudblood."

She grinned cruelly and leaned back, expecting the blow of the vulgar insult to sink in, for Bellua's eyes to widen and the girl to step back, maybe knock over the Chocoball pyramid if she was lucky. But instead, the other fifth-year just nodded, as if in thought, then gave a smile even colder and darker than Black's.

"Sorry to rain on your parade, Trixie; I'm just as pureblood as you." Smirking at her startled expression, she turned on her heel and headed towards the cashier – but not without grabbing two packs of Chocoballs.

It was a lie, really, now that she thought about it – she was probably even purer than the Black family had ever been.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

"You seem satisfied," Remus pointed out quietly as they sat at the Three Broomsticks, Butterbeers in hand. Sirius, James and Peter had gone to spook the kids down at the Shrieking Shack – a bit of mischief Remus only gave up because he had hoped to talk with Bellua more than he'd been able to.

"I gave Bellatrix Black a bit of a surprise," She replied calmly.

"What, spill something on her robes?"

"No, just rained on her parade." But her smile was hollow.

Remus raised his eyebrows. "What happened?"

"It's no big deal."

"Then you shouldn't have a problem telling me." He leaned forward. "I won't pass this around, if that's what you mean."

She made a face. "She called me a...a Mudblood."

Remus's face revealed his utter shock. How...how _dare _she? Anger welled up inside of him, a smoldering resentment that even surpassed whenever he or the Marauders were scorned. He clenched his jaw to keep himself from shouting and managed, "And you gave her a surprise, how?" If Honeydukes had been blown up, he would've known.

"Well, I'm _not _a, y'know, a Muggle-born."

"You're not?" He blinked, anger subsiding even faster than it'd sprung up.

"Nope." She lifted her chin a little. "I'm as pure as they get, probably purer than Black, even. Not that it matters, of course. I mean, look at Lily Evans – she gets better grades than most of the Death Eaters."

He smiled slightly, unclenching his jaw and relaxing almost instantly.

"Hey, hey, Moony! Bells! We come bearing gifts!" And Sirius sauntered in, snowball in hand.

Remus stared – so did Bellua and some third-years at another table. It was cold, but not _that _cold! "Where did you..." She tilted her head, as if trying to see it from another view.

"James has been practicing concentrated Weather-Modifying Charms. We had a right blizzard scaring those sixth-years at the Shrieking Shack." James also held a snowball, and Peter had two as Sirius continued. "By the time we show you, there'll be a load of kids already there."

"Show us...?" Remus frowned, as if he'd been offered a difficult equation.

"Yeah, otherwise you won't get _these _back." James grabbed their Butterbeers and promptly ran straight out the door. Rolling his eyes, Remus shot Bellua an exasperated look as they reluctantly stood and followed the other Marauders.

What they saw took them completely by surprise. Just as they'd promised, a huge mound of snow stood a little ways off, at least fifteen feet tall and filled with ten or so students throwing snowballs at each other or blasting huge chunks off of the mound with their wands. Remus couldn't help but grin – until Peter's snowball connected with the back of his head. Laughing, the Marauders lunged into the fray, grabbing snow in their bare hands and chucking balls of it expertly. Bellua danced on the spot at first – she'd only been in three snowball fights in her _life. _But when James lobbed a white orb that barely missed her head, she lost any reluctance, conjuring a snowball with a flick of her wand and catching James on the neck. He turned abruptly – the snowball was probably trickling down his robes – and Bellua knew she was a target. A wide grin crossed her features as she ducked and dodged, and she realized that this was _fun. _

She was forced closer to the trees by James and a Hufflepuff called Frank Longbottom. To escape, she ducked behind a cluster of trees – and crashed right into Severus Snape.

With a yelp of surprise, they both tumbled, landing on the cold ground heavily. Blushing deeply, she rolled to her feet immediately. "Oh, Severus, I'm sorry, I didn't see you..." She trailed off awkwardly, then stuck out her hand, offering to help him up. He watched the hand, then gripped it and was hoisted up. The scars in her hand felt far more evident than they were, as he was very aware of them. He held her hand for a split second longer than he should've, and dearly hoped the Gryffindor hadn't noticed. She brushed her hair back and with the light on her face, Severus could easily make out the thin marks on her face, streaking across her cheek, over her lips and partway down her neck. Thinking that it may look as if he was staring, he glanced at the snowball fight. Bellua noticed, and asked, "Are you playing?"

He looked indignant. "No."

"Then I won't hit you." She conjured up another one – it was much more fun to play with a little risk, diving into the midst of the fighting to grab a real snowball, but were just as useful when conjured.

"Is this fun?" He frowned.

"If it wasn't I wouldn't be doing it."

"Why is it fun?"

"Because..." She blinked, brow furrowing as she thought of how to put it. "It's like finishing something that's hard work, or winning Quidditch. Each little snowball is a little accomplishment. Plus James's face when he gets one in the face is pretty priceless." She smiled vaguely. "I guess that's what makes it fun. Have you ever played?"

He bit his lip, mildly embarrassed. "No."

"Then here." She handed the snowball to him. "Get Sirius, right on the back of the neck, so when it melts it dribbles down his robes. That's the best place to hit."

He gave her a skeptical look. "You realize that he'll kill me if I do."

"Good God, Severus, there's a whole forest over there. You think he'll manage to find you? Besides, I'm not such a bad aim; I'll be the prime suspect."

Severus smirked. At that moment, Riley and Claire ran into them, barely managing to _not _collide with them as Bellua had done and staring openly.

Riley froze, Claire sneered, "Oh." The latter narrowed her eyes. "I didn't realize _you _were here."

"Well, I am." Once she would've been brokenhearted to see them being so cold. Now she was just angry.

"What are you two doing here...alone? I thought you hung out with the Marauders now." Her voice was laced with contempt, but envy was buried deep in her words.

"I'm allowed to have more than four friends. Just because you've decided to hate me doesn't mean you have to be prats,"

"Yes, but a _Slytherin_?" Riley screwed up her nose. "And of all of them, _Snivellus?_"

Severus raised his eyebrows, pretending the words didn't sting. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you came back here just to insult us, an ex-friend and a Slytherin, simply because you can."

"We didn't, you greasy little moron. You think we'd waste our time like that?" Riley sniffed.

"Really? I'd say you thought we were going to be insulted by you," Bellua said, sensing a chance to be sarcastic and get a tiny amount of payback.

"Not only that," Severus tapped his chin, as if in deep thought. "But I'd say you were _jealous _of your fellow Gryffindor, because she's getting the attention from your idols, the Marauders, yet managing to still get better grades than both of you. Which I'm sure she is."

"That makes this entire conversation highly entertaining, because now that you've heard all of this, you've realized that Severus and I are _not _a 'couple' as you're implying in an attempt to be cruel, and we are more amused than insulted. And now you'll just grasp at strings to maintain your dignity." Bellua went on, barely hiding a grin behind her completely impassive face.

"But there are no strings to grab at, so you're both deeply confused and insulted, and we're more than eager to find out how you'll respond to these accusations, which are all, by the way, completely true." Severus smirked.

Claire and Riley appeared shocked. Then Riley managed a small sneer and said, "Very funny, aren't you? Bells and Snivelly, the know-it-all couple." And stalked off, Claire right behind her, as they whispered furiously and shot Severus what they probably thought were dangerous glares.

They couldn't help it – their blank expressions cracked and they both burst out laughing, Bellua blushing and holding her face, Severus nearly gasping for breath. That had been _perfect._ How many others could pull off such a flawless barrage of sarcasm? Few, certainly. And when was the last time he had laughed? It felt good, really, to laugh with someone he'd realized was almost as – if not just as – humorously satirical as he.

"Oh God," Bellua managed, panting between each word. "That...was..._priceless_."

"That felt good." He suddenly lobbed the snowball still in his hand and Sirius – still by the snow pile - was thrown forward, struck between the shoulder blades. "So did that." He turned to her, to see her features alight with a wide smile. Her eyes, the eyes he once found so very plain-looking, were sparkling with joy and he couldn't have forced down his own smile if he'd wanted to.

"You might want to run now," She said, sounding disappointed but clearly still in a good mood. "Before Sirius comes to find me. Oh, and thanks for that. That really made my day."

"You're not unable to defend yourself, that's for sure." He gathered his things and asked, "Do you want to begin the potion tomorrow night, after the Halloween feast?"

She narrowed her eyes in thought, trying to remember if anything else was happening that day. "I'd love to," She decided. "Do you want me to buy the Moonseed?"

"Already done." He patted his bag. "I'll see you then, okay?"

"Okay." She gave him a little wave before focusing on the game as the Slytherin turned and snuck out of range of the snowballs, much on his mind.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

She sat with the Marauders for dinner again, as she'd done on Friday – except this time she went straight to their portion of the table instead of being invited over. Remus saw her coming first and smiled – Sirius wasn't quite as subtle.

"Bells!" He cried happily – 'Bells' was now officially her nickname. "There you are!"

She rolled her eyes and sat in her usual spot between Sirius and Remus – the two she'd grown closest with. "Tactful, Sirius."

"Hey, it got you over here, didn't it?" He swung his arm around her shoulders and Remus looked away, worried she'd see the jealousy in his green eyes and the discomfort prickling under his skin. Why wasn't _he _bold enough to swing his arm around her? Not for the first time, he wished he was as brave as Padfoot.

"I suppose," She smiled at Sirius, then turned to the fellow werewolf. "You okay? You look...I don't know, unhappy."

"I'm not," He said a little too quickly. Sirius raised his eyebrows knowingly and removed his arm from Bellua's shoulder as Remus added, "Just worried about the Potions homework we have."

Bellua shrugged. "I finished it in the hospital wing and have four hours of nothing to do – want me to help?"

Remus lit up almost immediately, but said just to be certain, "You sure? I mean, it wouldn't be much fun..."

"Well, it's that or do homework by myself, and I thought y'all wanted to play a game of 'negotiating information'." She made little air quotes with her fingers.

James nodded. "That we did, Bells.

"But are you sure you want to? You seemed...hesitant last time..." Peter trailed off.

"Well, I'm stuffed up on puddings right now, so take my Yes while you still can before I put serious thought into it." She replied, eating another spoonful. Peter and Sirius laughed, whereas James and Peter grinned widely before they all tucked in. Remus only hung back for a moment before poking thoughtfully at his mashed potatoes, wondering what sort of secrets would be shared that evening.

When they finished, the Marauders headed straight to the thick plush chairs around the hearth. Peter and Sirius dug out packs of Chocolate Frogs from their bags and Remus withdrew his half-finished roll of parchment all about venom antidotes.

"I suppose none of you have started yours." He said with a knowing smile.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Do I _look _like a bookworm, Moony? Cramming helps me focus, anyway."

"Focus on your detention, you mean," He spun a quill between his fingers and added, "James, don't you have Quidditch practice?"

"Another fifteen minutes." He replied. "Wormtail, you coming to watch? I know you were thinking about becoming spokesperson since Edgar Bones graduated, you mentioned wanting some practice."

"Oh, yeah, totally." Peter grinned – clearly the thought of doing something such an exciting job appealed to him.

"You'd better bundle up - it's cold out." Remus said just as Claire Jackson and Riley McGuire walked in, bags bulging with who-knows-what and looking rather secretive.

"Hello, girls," Sirius said calmly, and they both jumped as if caught in the act of some crime.

"Oh, hi, Sirius." Claire said a little too loudly, managed to smile unconvincingly before dashing up to her dorm along with Riley, door slamming behind them.

"Huh. Usually she becomes a nasty flirt around me." Sirius shrugged.

"Think they're up to something?" Remus hadn't looked up from his work.

"I'm a Marauder, mate. I know a suspicious face when I see one." He flashed Remus a white-toothed grin. A moment later Bellua and Lily stepped into view, talking indistinctly with each other. Lily's mouth twitched slightly when she saw James, but said nothing to the Marauders – they too were silent until she left through the portrait-door.

"James, do you fancy her?" Bellua saw the lost look in Prongs's eyes and smirked.

He scowled. "Don't be...well, yes, I do. And I _know _Evans fancies _me._"

"She either deeply despises you or pretends to in order to hide her feelings. I wouldn't know, we barely talk."

"Would you..._ask _her?" James smiled hopefully.

Bellua actually snorted with amusement. "Don't be ridiculous; it'd be much too obvious. Ask her out when you get more mature, okay?"

James scowled deeper, Sirius and Peter laughed as Bellua walked over to Remus. "You're almost done." She commented as her blue eyes skimmed over the parchment. "And it's already better than mine."

Remus smiled. "Now _that's_ a lie."

"Well, actually it might not be - she's taking remedial Potions, isn't she?" Sirius called from his spot near the fireplace, withdrawing his own homework.

Bellua's head snapped around, hair flicking into her face. "What?!"

He looked up from his work. "Oh, well, Slughorn told me that his classroom was taken every couple of nights by you and another student. I figured you were being tutored or something."

"I'm not!" She protested hotly.

"She's too good at Potions to be taking remedial, anyway." James added. "You always finish first. Well second to Snivelly, but he doesn't really count."

She scraped her fingernails along the table, only Remus noticing. "You know, James, they say that if you want to know what a man's like, you have to look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."

"Well, _they _have clearly never met Snivellus." But there was an edge of unease to his voice.

She turned on her seat to stare coldly at him. "_Well,_ _they've _probably met a lot worse. You realize that if a teacher caught you performing the kinds of injuries on Severus _I've _seen, you'd be suspended, right?"

"Suspended?" He said as if the word was unfamiliar to him.

"At the best. Expelled if you break any larger bones, which you've come awfully close to."

"Are you saying I should be _punished? _I'm not sure if you noticed, but if anyone deserves to be punished, it's the Death Eaters."

"Oh, so you're stooping to their level now?" She stood, hands clenched into white fists. "Just because you can't have Lily Evans doesn't mean you have to take it out on her ex-best friend! Have you ever thought that constantly bullying Severus is _why _she's not going to go out with you?"

"Since when were you on first-name terms with Snivellus?" He knocked over his chair as he stood, eyes flashing angrily.

"Since I healed him, and gave him a new copy of the book you blew up, and he and I planned to use the Potions classroom for extra curriculum work." She blurted.

Silence hung in the air like a weight. Bellua felt a mixture of relief at letting out all that pent-up fury, and regret at seeing the hurt in James's eyes. She knew mentioning Lily was below the belt, and her eyes stung with tears she refused to shed. A calloused hand wrapped around her arm and tugged, very gently, and she turned to look at Remus, who was watching her carefully. Sirius had been silent the whole time, Peter looked awkwardly out of place, and James's mouth was a thin white line.

"I think we need to get to Quidditch," Peter finally said, and Bellua found herself grateful to the short (but not as short as her) boy as he gestured to James, who watched Bellua for a moment longer before turning away, grabbing his already-prepared Quidditch things and leaving without another word.

Bellua was relieved no one else had been there, or stepped in later, because she sunk into her chair a second after Peter closed the door and bit her lip to hold back the tears. She felt disgusting, and idiotic, and insensitive. James had a good heart – he'd been sorted into Gryffindor, the house of bravery and nobility, hadn't he? He was good to everyone but Severus, wasn't he? He was nice to _her, _but now she'd risked throwing their friendship out the window. What was wrong with her? Did she have to drive away everyone she met?

_Part of being a werewolf, I suppose._

_But then again, this had nothing to do with werewolves, did it? Just me and my stupidity now. I'll be surprised if Sirius even talks to me..._

"Bells," She looked up from staring at her knees to see Remus, who was still next to her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm such a moron," She managed, laughing sourly.

Sirius stood and walked over, not taking his eyes off of her. "But you got a point, Bell. We are idiots now and then. Well, more often that not." He admitted. "I didn't know you were friends with Sniv...Snape."

She shook her head. "I don't want you to stop for me. I want you to stop for your own sake. I'm not going to tattle, but I don't have the same motives as everyone."

"Should I go yell at James?" Sirius smirked.

"If you want." She sighed. "I still feel like rubbish."

"Do some genius-y stuff with Moony – you'll feel real smart then. Smarter than me, anyway; I haven't even started yet."

"What happened to cramming helping you focus?" Remus cocked his eyebrow.

"Yeah, well...I was lying." Mock-saluting them, he pushed the door open, holding it an extra moment for some fourth-year girls, who giggled somewhat ridiculously when he said, "Evening, ladies." And sauntered off with the attitude of someone who _knew _how good they looked.

She looked at Remus as more students flocked in. "Maybe we should finish this somewhere else."

"That's probably wise." He replied, shooting a look at the chatting first-years who'd just walked in. "My dorm?"

"Sure." She gathered her things hastily and followed him to their room. One-fourth of the dorm was near-pristine, another fourth looked as though someone had cleaned it in a hurry; the other quarters seemed to have merged together in some way, for the piles of extra clothes and parchment strewn between almost conjoined the two beds.

She laughed a little. "I'm assuming these two are James and Sirius's?" She gestured to the heap of mess.

He grinned. "How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess." She sat down on the most orderly one, on the far side, and looked at him. "So you said you were into the rarer ones, right?"

"Yes – I can't remember which poison is curable by phoenix tears, and which gives you thirty minutes exactly before dying – the hydra or the basilisk." He sat on the other side of the bed, enough space between them to look at the parchment.

"The basilisk is the one with the phoenix tears – their venom is strong enough to destroy Horcruxes, even."

He looked up. "What other Dark Arts things can they destroy?"

She shrugged. "Probably a lot – I didn't read the whole book. Some say the basilisk is a sort of created creature, like genetically mutated because it has so many kill methods, some say it's beyond even natural magic."

He laughed a little. "You know too much, you know that?"

"I learn about everything I don't need to know. Useless information no one needs." She rolled her eyes

"That's one way to put it." He looked at her with a gentle smile and a softness in his eyes that she couldn't look away from. "Or we could just say you're a genius, and marvelous with a wand. And pretty, despite the way you deny it every time someone mentions."

She blushed deeply, and looked down, hair falling in her face. _He's just making me feel better, isn't he? I mean, I've got scars on every inch of me!_ "You've been hanging out with James too much, haven't you?"

"Maybe." He fiddled with his own wand. "Uh, Bellua...you're not _with _Snape...are you?"

"Oh, no, of course not." She shook her head.

Relief washed over him, but dread too. _I promised myself I'd ask her. Well, here goes nothing. _"And...About James. You know, with all the times he keeps teasing you and me, saying we're _together _or something...well, he's got a point."

She couldn't speak. Her mouth was dry, why was it dry? Every part of her was leaning forward, hanging onto his every word.

"I told him I like you, Bellua. I mean, _really_ like you. And I do." His nerves were threatening to choke him but he continued, fast as he could, before he regretted it. "Like, every time Sirius puts his arm around your shoulder, I feel jealous, and when you almost drowned I felt more afraid than I ever have since I found out about my lycanthropy. When I asked if you wanted to come to Hogsmeade with the Marauders, I was just chickening out from asking if you wanted to go with...me." He blurted, talking much too fast and not giving her any time to respond. "And I was hoping that maybe after I'm finished making a fool of myself right now and freaking you out, you'd like to meet with me after lunch tomorrow and help with homework and maybe talk about the Dueling Club opening after Halloween, and our...condition, and things like that, without anyone incessantly talky around. Just...just the two of us."

Bellua was clearly stunned, and for a moment Remus feared she was going to leave without another word. If she did, he would never manage to ask her out again, and he wouldn't sleep as his mind would be whirring with better ways he could've said how he felt. Around that frizzy hair, Bellua's eyes were shining with what...shock? Joy? Amusement? Probably the latter. Dejected, he added, "It's...it's okay if you don't want to. I know Sirius is single, and a friend of yours, and I'm not exactly a _dream come true_, I'd understand if-"

"No you wouldn't, because I would be an idiot to say no." She lunged forward and hugged him tightly, much to his surprise. "Thank you for pulling me out of the water, and worrying for me, and just being there, and asking me if I wanted to talk. Because I do." She squeezed him a little tighter, and then backed up, looking almost dazed but overjoyed. Then her face fell. "And it's way late."

"I don't think I could concentrate, anyway." He added, reddening deeply.

"Yeah...neither could I. Good...Goodnight, then." She moved as if to stand, then promptly fell off the edge of the bed. Gasping in surprise, she stood awkwardly, laughing nervously, then snatched her bag and promptly ran out.

She couldn't believe it. She hadn't even realized how badly she'd wanted it to happen until...it'd happened. And it'd actually, honestly _happened. _She hugged herself happily as she stepped into the fifth-year dorm and was tempted to dance around the room when Lily looked up at her from bed. It really _was _late.

"Where've you been?" She managed groggily.

"Doing homework."

"In the boys' dorm?" Claire looked over, and Bellua's jaw clenched.

"Yes. Remus and I were just doing homework. Keep your nose to yourself." She snapped.

Lily bit her lip, feeling a little awkward, and said, "It's good to know you've befriended them. Remus is a really nice guy."

"Of course he is. Otherwise I wouldn't be friends with him." She pulled the veil around so she could strip and put on pajamas without worrying about her scars. Claire and Riley said nothing, so she added, "So is James, y'know."

"He is to his buddies, yeah." She sighed. "I don't understand why he's Gryffindor; he's a slimy coward."

"If he was put into the house of nobility, he's going to end up being noble eventually." Bellua said hopefully.

"But he's such a _bully_."

"He'll grow out of it." She assured. "Everyone has to wake up and smell the real world sometime in their life."

"I kind of hope so. He's got a good heart...I think." Was that a touch of dreaminess to her tone? "Well, I won't keep you up any longer. 'Night."

"Goodnight." Bellua knew she was smiling when she slipped into dreams.

For the first time, she had no nightmares.

**That turned out a lot longer than I expected...oh well ;)  
Was everyone in character (especially James and Severus)? Please lemme know if I'm not keeping character, really don't want to disappoint. :)**

**Thanks again for reading! Chapter 8 will (hopefully) be up soon!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here we go! Longest chapter so far!  
Unicorn on fire, GinnyMercury and Juli Beawr, thank you for reviewing on Chapter 7! I'm not just saying this, I LOVE hearing your responses to my work. **

**AND BY THE WAY: Sadly, I won't be posting next week, as I will be on vacation and probably won't have access to internet. I won't be posting again until AT LEAST the 18th. Sorry. :(**

**On that not-so-positive note, here's Chapter 8! Enjoy! ****For some reason I'm super nervous about this one...*panic***

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Well, it's after lunch. Damn, I'm scared. Why am I scared, I've been on dates before. Snap out of it, Remus. Walk forward, just go down the stairs and look for her. It's not a date, really, we're just hanging out. Get a grip, Lupin. Okay, she's not in her tree. Keep walking. It's not that cold, why am I shaking? Oh, there she is, near the Dueling Club room. Did she sign up? I hope she did...Oh God, she's looking at me._ _Don't look away. Just walk forward, smile a little, and make sure she knows how excited you are. Don't be a freak. Oh, for God's sake, just be normal, okay? No, don't be normal. Be great. Be awesome, listen to what she says and be good about it. Don't talk too much, make sure to be polite-Oh, I'm here._

Bellua smiled at Remus and he struggled to remain calm. "Hi." She said.

"Hi." He greeted, nervously.

"So..." She looked over at the bolted Dueling Club door. "Dang, that's loud. It sounds like they're completely rebuilding it or something. Let's go somewhere else."

"Oh, yes, of course. Right. Did you sign up for the club?" He struck up a conversation as they headed across the grounds, side by side.

"Of course I did! Did you?" _Please say yes, _she thought to herself. The wide Hogwarts grounds opened up before them and the chilly Halloween air blew through the brightly-colored leaves of the trees. It was much like a painting in its simple splendor, Bellua thought to herself.

"I wouldn't miss the Dueling Club for the world." He smiled. _This is going okay so far._

"Good." Then she stopped and looked at him. "What's your middle name?"

He blinked. "I'm sorry?"

_Oh, crap. I hope I didn't strike a nerve. _Bellua thought, then said. "I'm sorry, I was listening, the thought just came to me that I don't know your middle name. Funny, isn't it?"

He looked at her and raised his eyebrows, amusement dancing in his gaze. "It's John. Remus John Lupin."

She nodded, smiling. "Pleased to meet you."

"What about you?"

She stopped walking and smiling. "What?"

"What's your middle name?"

She fiddled with her fingers. "I...don't have one."

"You don't?" He frowned, looking at her.

"No...not anymore."

"Anymore?" He looked at her, noticing the blush creeping along her cheeks. "Did you abandon it?"

"No. I...I got my name changed."

"Then you _did _abandon it."

"No." A tear sprung up. "My parents changed it."

"Your parents?" He looked her in the eye. "Why did-" He stopped, stunned. That meant...

"They disowned me." She said wretchedly, sitting on the ground and looking out over the field. "They couldn't stand their perfect bloodline being tainted, so they disowned me and-" She stopped, throat clogged with grief and shame. _Stop talking. Stop talking now._

"And what?" He said very softly, sitting next to her.

"Never mind. It's not important." She said hurriedly.

"Are you sure?"

"No."

"I..." He thought of pushing it, then chose to say, "I didn't know you were a pureblood."

"I'm not, really. I mean, lycanthropy messes it up, doesn't it? Not exactly pure when there are wolf genes in you." She smiled weakly and bitterly.

He shrugged. "Not that it matters. Lily Evans is one of the best Charm-workers in school and she's Muggle-born."

"I didn't know that." She said thoughtfully. "You...you don't suppose that the Death Eaters will sign up for the Dueling Club?"

"Oh, probably." He said. "I hope we do team stuff – I mean, if we ever _do _get in a fight, it won't usually be one-on-one."

"Do you want to be an Auror or something?" She raised her eyebrows and pushed her hair from her face.

"I don't know...It'd be a half-decent career choice, wouldn't you think? What with all the Dark Arts reports going on, and once the Death Eaters graduate who knows what they'll do..."

"You think they'll go bad too?" Bellua tilted her head to the side.

"Honestly? Yeah, I do. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some Dark Wizard right now, just _dying _to recruit as many students as possible once they graduate."

"But what's the _point_ of it?" She gestured dramatically. "I mean, take people like Bellatrix Black. They're creepy and possibly insane, but she's smart enough. She'd either have to go off the deep end or be _very _convinced that this Dark Lord fellow is going to win. Otherwise it's Azkaban for them." Bellua's tone grew cold at the last words.

"Did..." He hesitated. "Did your parents involve in the Dark Arts?"

"Of course they did, what pureblood-obsessed freak hasn't?" She snapped angrily, then immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry, I...I just don't know." Rubbing her head with her small hands, she sighed deeply and closed her eyes.

"If you want to say anything, I won't pass it around." He said quietly.

Her blue eyes opened and she smiled weakly. "You're too kind for your own good, Remus Lupin." She inhaled deeply, and said, "Did you know _Bellua Dimidium _is Latin for Half Beast?"

"What...really?" His eyes were wide with shock.

"Thus my name." She sighed again. "I...how old were you when you were bitten?"

"Six," He replied. "You?"

"I was four. And...how did your parents deal with it?"

"They were terrified at first," He said softly. "But they were able to accept I wasn't _always _the monster, even fixed a room for me to change, in the basement."

"In...The basement?" She shuddered.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Remus raised his eyebrows, noting her strange responses to certain questions.

"Yes. I-I don't like basements." Bellua fiddled with her hands as the two werewolves looked out over the horizon. Hagrid's hut was evident from their spot, along with the many hills in the area and the ForbiddenForest.

"Can I ask why?" He looked at her expectantly.

"I...no, I can't tell you."

"Bell," He looked her in the eye and she couldn't turn away. "It's okay."

She exhaled deeply. "It's...It's because that's where I was, too." A tear trickled down the side of her face and her face rapidly contorted with anger.

"I HATE THIS!" She yelled into the sky so abruptly it made Remus jump. "I'm sick of keeping secrets! I hate having a terrible life! What did I do to deserve getting bitten?! What did _you _do?! Why was I was chained up every day with my blood on the walls and nothing to do but scream and try to get out and rip myself to pieces and-"

"Bellua!" Remus gripped her arm and she realized she was shaking violently. "Please, you're...you're losing yourself."

"You have to let me finish." She whispered, rolling up her sleeves to show him the scars and chain marks. "It'll always be a part of me, no matter how good I am with spells." She pushed her sleeve back down and looked at him. "Until the day I die, I'm going to keep secrets, so I might as well spill. I'm a Meracus, Remus. The Meracuses, the perfectionist and stinking rich pureblood family that lost their only daughter, Wisteria Avalon, when she was four. The family that was disgraced five years ago because of being arrested for child abuse. That child was me, Remus. That _daughter _was me, too. They...they wouldn't stand their pureblood line being tainted, and hated losing their direct ancestry. So they vent their frustration on me, didn't heal me either, that's why I'm so scarred and insecure. That's why my name means Half Beast." Her calm expression crumbled and she sobbed gently, hugging Remus and burying her head in his chest. He froze at first, then carefully pulled her a little closer, pressing her against him as she cried softly. His mind raged with anger and questions. S_he _was Wisteria Meracus, presumed dead since the day she was bitten? He'd heard of the arrest of her parents, for it was all over the news the year he went to Hogwarts: MERACUS FAMILY IN SHAME, IMPRISONED FOR CHILD ABUSE. The _Prophet _hadn't told them who had been abused, only that she was at St. Mungo's for serious wounds and psychological therapy_. _No one suspected it was the long-dead daughter..._Does this mean that Bellua – Wisteria – had just been locked up for eleven years? God, of course she came late – imagine the trauma..._pity and shock welled up inside of him and he hugged her tighter. This date had not gone as he'd expected it to.

"So your name's Wisteria?" He whispered when she quieted.

She sniffed. "It was, yeah. Poisonous, beautiful flower and all that. I like Bells better though." She looked up at him and smiled weakly. "I'm sorry, I'm being such a ridiculous and emotional...I don't know." Another big sniff. "Thank you." She hugged him again and he returned it.

"You're not ridiculous, or insecure. Do you want to talk more?" He said quietly.

"I dunno." She then looked past him and screamed in terror, tearing herself from his grip and stumbling backwards, eyes wide with terror. Whipping out his wand he turned around – to see Sirius in his Animagus form.

"Sirius!" Remus yelled, and the fifth-year whined in protest before shifting into the form of a boy.

"Bells, what's wrong?" Sirius stepped forward, fear for his friend evident in his gaze. She looked up and straightened, trying to push her hair from her face and suddenly seemed very calm.

"Oh God, I'm sorry Sirius...I'm just deathly afraid of dogs." She shuddered deeply, wiping the leftover tears from her eyes before Sirius saw them.

The curly-haired boy blinked. "A werewolf, afraid of dogs. Huh." He stepped forward but Remus reached her first, helping her up and saying, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just spooked, that's all." Then her eyes narrowed. "Is that...is that why you're nicknamed Padfoot? Because you're an unregistered Animagus?"

"Clever." Sirius grinned.

"You're going to get in trouble."

"Getting in trouble's for people who get found out." Sirius said with a cocky grin.

"So Moony, Padfoot...Prongs and Wormtail." She blinked thoughtfully. "Peter's a rat and James is a, uh...moose?"

Remus snorted with amusement and Sirius laughed outright. "Stag, actually. He'll think that's funny, though."

"Do you have one?" She looked at Remus, whose face soured.

"Yeah," He replied, grimacing. "But I can only do it once a month."

"Ah...of course." She didn't realize she was still holding his hand until Sirius's gaze dropped to it and he smirked. Remus blinked, surprised, and they both let go at once. Padfoot gave them each knowing look and a grin, then said, "Anyhoo, I came to let y'all know that the Quidditch match is starting in forty-five minutes."

"Really?" Bellua raised her eyebrows. "Who are we against?"

"Slytherin." He confirmed, smiling. "And we're going to smoke them."

Remus and Bellua exchanged a look, then Remus nodded and said, "Thanks for the update; we'll see you then."

Sirius gave them another grin, then jogged back towards the castle. Remus looked at the other werewolf and said, "Everyone in school knows about this match."

"He just wanted to see if we were hanging out." Bellua rolled her eyes. "He needs a girlfriend."

Remus laughed and gestured. "Or at least a hobby. Want to walk around? I know most of the grounds around here."

"Yeah...okay." She glanced down at his hand but chose, perhaps wisely, not to take it, instead following him along the trail leading to Hagrid's hut, then past it and along a ridge of earth following the edge of the ForbiddenForest.

"So why did they become Animagi? Simply because they wanted to find out if they could?" She looked at Remus.

"No, it was so they could accompany me during my transformation. Idiots, really, taking such a risk. But I'm glad they did...they can stay with me, and keep me from running off to Hogsmeade. We've had some close calls...but hey, no one said lycanthropy was easy."

"Good, because otherwise they'd be idiots." She said quietly. "It is...I don't know. It's so much more than just changing every little while. It's the scars, and the twisted memories, and the fear and the prejudice. Can you believe the prejudice?" She hugged herself as they headed towards the Whomping Willow. "I only change once a month yet Claire and Riley decide they can't have anything to do with me any _other _night."

Remus looked at her, then back out at the sky. "I'm afraid of the future, honestly. It's only going to get harder to find jobs in the wizard's society, and it's likely that people like us will resort to other means to make money."

"Thus the prejudice grows." Bellua grimaced.

"A vicious cycle if there ever was one...and we're caught in the thick of it." He smiled at her. "But I mean, you've got talent with healing and pretty much anything else you lay your hands on, I'm certain someone will be lucky enough to hire you."

"You're too kind." She smirked at him and nearly tripped over a tree root as she did so. The Whomping Willow loomed over them menacingly and in response, Remus waved his wand grandly, making its movements slow dramatically.

"Dumbledore taught me that." He smiled. "You said you go in a crypt?"

"Yeah. It's connected to the Slytherin dungeons, but no one knows about them except the teachers and me...and now Claire and Riley." They ducked under the tunnel, Bellua shielding her head from the dripping water above them. "And where exactly are we going?"

"The Shrieking Shack. And I really am sorry about Claire and Riley...I do know what it's like to fear your friends leaving you, and being alone is..." He trailed off.

"Hey, I have you guys, don't I? Well, maybe not James now." Her smile dropped.

He gave her a lopsided grin. "Ah, he may hate you but it'll wear off. Friends fight, don't they?"

"Hope so. He's grand, in his own biased way." They kept walking for a little while and Bellua was okay with the silence. It was soothing, and once again didn't feel awkward. In a way, the quiet was a way of communicating, as every once and a while he would glance back at her and the way his eyes shone when they focused on her showed that her presence alone pleased him – and vise versa.

"Ah. Here we are." He gave her a leg up through the trapdoor, and she recalled with a shudder the last time she'd dragged her breaking body up those stairs he led her up.

"Why are we here?" She looked over at him.

He shrugged gently "It's actually a really good place. I come sometimes to think, or when James, Peter, Sirius and I are planning something-"

She gasped. "Is that a piano?!"

He looked over, frowning, then smiled and said, "Yeah." She beamed and rushed over to it, not bothering to brush the dust off as she sat before it.

Oh, how she _loved _the piano. It was, in her own way, a gateway to her mind. She could whisper or scream her love, her hate, her fears into the way her fingers brushed over the notes. Yes, she could play. There was a piano, mostly unused, in Hogwarts, and she had played it often at night, before she'd officially attended when other students were asleep. Playing at night, on a massive grand piano, gave a dark and ghostlike feeling she loved. She loved everything about music, but piano especially.

Her fingers stroked the ivory keys, now yellowed but still playable. She closed her eyes as she played a simple chord, then another, and another, until she was slowly creating a song. Both she and Remus were surprised how much the piano stayed in tune.

"Turn...out the lights..." She hummed under her breath according to the eerie lyrics. "Feed the fire...till my soul breaks free. My...heart is high as the waves above me...Don't need to understand...too lost to lose...Don't fight my tears cause they feel so good..."

Remus watched, enchanted as her gentle words broke into a soft, melodious and almost haunting voice, singing with the words that felt almost ethereal.

"_And I...I will remember how to fly...Unlock the heavens in my mind...follow my love back through the same secret door..."_ She sighed heavily as she struck the last chord of the old piano.

"That's the first time I've played that without crying," She said softly, sliding off the stool and sitting on the floor.

"I didn't know you could play. Or sing." He sat down beside her.

She blushed deeply. "I only sing to keep myself on track."

He smiled. "Bellua, one day you're going to have to accept that you're talented. And...and pretty." He reddened as the words forced themselves out.

She looked at him and shook her head. "I do appreciate your words, Remus. But I'm not being modest. You've seen my scars, I'm just telling the truth-"

"Then your truth it much different than ours, Bells." She couldn't help but look at him as he said, "Have you _ever _seen yourself? Without seeing the...y'know, 'furry little problem'? The scars show how strong you are, not how ugly or unworthy." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, smiled and said, "You _are _beautiful, Bell. You're going to have to accept that someday."

"Remus..." She trailed off. "I..." He was so close to her. She swallowed and looked back at him, wondering what to do. How could he think her beautiful?! He'd seen the scars! He'd seen her nasty hair, her haunting past, her lycanthropy. "I don't think you mean that." She muttered. "I'm not pretty, or worthy, or acceptable. You could do so much better. I'm a disgrace-"

"You're saying exactly what your parents told you, aren't you?" He smiled sadly at the shocked expression on her face.

"I..." _I am._ She couldn't say it though. "I'm sorry." Was all she seemed to manage.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for." His gentle smile dropped as he looked at her, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear so he could see her eyes. His gaze was so soft as their eyes met, green and grey-blue, emerald and sapphire. She realized how close they were a moment before he leaned in and carefully, almost timidly, met her lips with his own.

Immediately he regretted it...and yet he didn't. As soon as they made contact his wolf instincts roared with pleasure and lust, pumping adrenaline through his body and leaving him yearning for more contact with a mad need that was not his own. The timidity vanished and he pushed himself a little further forward. And when she exhaled through her nose and the warm air brushed his skin, his tenuous control crumbled and he jerked back before he did anything stupid. One of the beams above them cracked and broke a chunk of wood, letting it descend and smack down on the piano, thumping a loud and angry chord.

Bellua jumped and gasped, as if coming out of a trance, as did Remus. He blinked awake to meet her gaze; his eyes widened and he jumped off of her as if she was an electric wire. She stood as quickly as she could and brushed herself off, her face beet red.

"Uh," Was all she said.

"Did you, uh, feel, the, uh," Seemed to be all he could say.

"Uh...werewolf hormones?" She reddened further.

"Think so." He managed.

"Because we're both...y'know?"

"Think so."

"Does this happen with other girls?"

"No." He physically could _not_ blush any more.

"Do you...want to head back?"

"Oh, right. For the Quidditch match."

"Quidditch. Right."

They walked back in silence. Bellua recalled the event perfectly. He had kissed her, and the taint in her blood had gone mad with desire. It was, to be frank, a blend of deranged excitement...and somewhat revolting_. _Was it because he too was a werewolf, and wolves were a little hastier to, uh..._mate..._than humans? She shuddered, and Remus noticed. He tried to smile at her but it ended up more like a grimace as they left the Whomping Willow tunnel and headed back towards the Quidditch field. Luckily the match had barely started and Remus and Bellua had time to squeeze in the back row of screaming Gryffindor fans. It was then that she recalled with a jolt her plans for the evening.

"Crap." She muttered under her breath and went searching for Remus, who was only a little ways away. "I have to go!" She yelled over the roaring crowd.

"You sure?" His disappointment was evident despite the noise.

"Yeah, I'm sure! I'll talk to you after, okay?" And she restrained herself by only kissing him gently on the cheek before running off. Remus watched her go and touched the place she'd kissed as if he could catch the feeling before it fluttered away.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

Severus heard the gentle knocking on the Slytherin common room door and frowned deeply. Perhaps Crabbe had forgotten the password, in his stupidity...he himself had restrained himself from going to the Quidditch match because of all his extra curriculum work...but who else would have skipped out on the first match of the season-

He opened the door and promptly yelped with surprise. "Shush!" The girl snapped. "Do you want Filch to come and interrogate us?"

"What are you doing here, Bellua?" He hissed. At first he hadn't recognized her, for her signature wild hair was pulled into a vaguely neat ponytail.

"I thought we should start the potion now. You probably just finished any extra curriculum stuff, considering how I already did and you're probably far faster than me. I asked Slughorn and he said it was okay." She smiled at him. "Whadya say?"

It was true – he'd thought about watching the match but was certain he wouldn't find any good seating at this late time, and was going to write more into his _Advanced Potion-Making _book as it was already signed with his unknown nickname: _Half-Blood Prince. _But by the look in her eyes and the excited feeling in his gut, he knew this was far more important.

"Okay." He decided to say. "Sure, I'll come. But don't expect this to be really quick, okay? It'll probably take nine or ten tries."

"Oh, at least." She agreed as she watched him grab his things, helping him carry the cauldron herself. The Potions classroom was not far, and when they arrive Severus lit the torches with a wand-flick and set about preparing.

"Do you have everything?" He looked over at her.

"It's all here. Except the moonstone, of course."

"Only place to get that would be Slughorn's chambers." He said with a grimace.

"Then we'd best try without it." She replied thoughtfully. "C'mon, get the cauldron ready."

They worked in silence for a while, preparing each ingredient and the silver cauldron until Bellua said, "There's also this." And she handed Severus a tiny vial. The dark-haired boy accepted it and peered inside to see two thin hairs, curled at the end.

"What is it?" He frowned slightly.

"Werewolf's hair. Remus Lupin's, actually." She didn't look up from the book.

"It looks awfully dark to be his." He murmured, spilling it onto his palm.

"Then either you need glasses or this room needs more light." She deadpanned as she reached for the Aconite root. Severus watched her carefully and examined one of the hairs. Yes, it _did _seem too dark...once certain that Bellua wasn't looking he tied one of them around his finger, slipping the first back into the vial. He wasn't exactly sure why he did it, but he did anyway.

"God, this is confusing. Makes me wish I'd brought Lily Evans into this." Bellua said under her breath.

Severus stiffened, then turned to the Gryffindor and forced his face to remain placid. "You know Lily Evans?"

"Sort of. We're not _very _close." Her tone remained casual; clearly she didn't see the hope sparkling in Severus's eyes even when she turned around and asked, "Why?"

"Nothing. Just wondering." He said. Bellua raised her eyebrows but did not push the matter, instead asking, "How hot did you say it should be?"

"It can't be too warm, otherwise it'll fry the Moondew, but too low and the poison on the Aconite won't burn away."

"Right, thank you. Can you pass me the chopped Wolfsbane?"

Severus complied, getting an approximate handful of the Aconite and sifting it through his fingers into the bubbling concoction, which was now turning a strange shade of violet.

"I need the hairs now." She said, but Severus hesitated.

"Shouldn't we wait until afterwards, when the Aconite has settled?" He asked, backing away so he could cast the _Geminio _Charm on the one hair and thus making it seem like he hadn't taken one.

"How finely did you chop it?" She looked back at him just as he'd re-corked the vial.

"Very."

"Then it should be okay by now. Three wand stirs or four?"

"Depends on how thick your wand is."

"Ah. Thank you." Her smile was hollow, he thought to himself as he studied her eyes for that brief moment. They were lost in thought and memories – he knew the feeling well and could easily identify it, as it was rare. But what was she thinking about...

The broken conversations continued, Severus commonly correcting miniscule errors as Bellua asked for a second pair of eyes on the situation. His mind raged with thoughts, but most of them centered on Lily. Maybe Bellua...hope blossomed within him as he thought that maybe, maybe she could talk to Lily, convince her to understand.

There was a moment of silence while the cauldron simmered, emitting foul-smelling, pinkish steam as they waiting for it to (supposedly) change color. Severus held his breath, then said, "So,"

"So." She looked over at him, giving a small smile.

"You've been distracted since we started."

"Well, I was a _little _bummed about missing the Quidditch match," She lied convincingly, rubbing the back of her head. Her hair was considerably darker than Remus's, and he wondered briefly if-

"And you got all hyped up when I mentioned Lily Evans." She raised her eyebrows the exact same way as before."

"What? No I didn't!" His lie, however, was not nearly as believable as hers.

"Do you like her?" She smiled at him knowingly, as if no matter how he replied, she would know the truth. _Damn, why can girls always read emotions so well?! _He wanted to mutter, but chose not to and instead replied hotly, "Who said I did?"

"I did. And so did you, in your own inconspicuous way. First day I saw you, Sirius poked fun and said you didn't have Lily Evans to protect you." He winced at the memory as she continued, "Same day, you asked me if I was Muggle-born. And now this-" She gestured to him.

Severus bit his lip before saying, "You thought a lot about this, didn't you?"

She made a face. "Not today I haven't. But it's good to see you've accepted it."

"Who cares if I like Lily Evans?" He protested indignantly.

"Severus," She said, fiddling with her small hands. "Lily doesn't like the Dark Arts _or _Death Eaters. No Gryffindor does, really."

"What's wrong with the Death Eaters-"

"Everything! Can't you see that?!" She stood up angrily. "I'm willing to bet that _every single _Death Eater is totally psyched about the rumors of Dark Wizards rising up. They're all pureblooded fanatics, talking about how disgusting Muggle-borns are – which, may I remind you, is what Lily is!"

"Those 'fanatics' are my friends! And I am _not _a pureblood fanatic!" He yelled, far taller now that he'd stood from his chair. "I'm a half-blood and the Dark Arts are all I have!"

She stopped talking, clearly stunned. "You're a half-blood?"

He realized his fists and jaw were clenched, and loosened slightly as he said, "Yes."

"And the Dark Arts are all you have?" She said, voice barely above a whisper.

He laughed sourly. "Well, it's not like I have _parents_, or a promising future. I had Lily, but-" He stopped, mentally cursing himself. "The potion's done." And he hurried over to it, stirring a little faster than he should have and focusing completely on it as he mixed in the remaining Aconite and cast a Homorphus Charm on the concoction.

"My parents are in Azkaban." She said quietly.

He stopped and turned to her, eyes wide. "What?"

"They deserved it." She continued. "But still. I'm alone too." She stood next to him and looked up at the Slytherin.

"No, you're not." He snapped. "You have the Marauders. You have all your clever little buddies-"

"Well, in that case, you're not alone either, if the Death Eaters really _are_ your friends." She pointed out.

He snorted and said, "Very funny."

"Really? I didn't see it as funny." She said coolly. "And this is the stage where we need the moonstone." Her calm façade dropped and she sighed and gathered everything else. "Ah, but either way it has to simmer for seventy-six hours either way. We can leave it here for now."

"Right." He looked at her and said, "Be careful." Then grabbed his bag and braced to leave, when Bellua said,

"Severus? I'll give her a good word."

He looked back, smiled weakly and walked away.

Bellua watched him leave, then cursed and sat on the floor. The match would be over by now, Remus would be being nagged by his friends about how the date went. She'd trusted him with those secrets, and desperately hoped it was a good decision. Of course he could keep secrets from people he didn't trust...but what about Sirius, James and Peter? Perhaps Sirius could know, for he was also a close friend, but the other two...And would he mention the animalistic urge that had corrupted them both, had nearly taken her? She was afraid to tell anyone how bitterly terrified she was, and that now she knew...she knew that the werewolf wasn't just with her during the full moon. It may lay dormant, but not dormant enough. It had injected its monstrousness into her as soon as she'd lay eyes on Remus, and now she feared who would know by the end of the year...and who would use that information for their own nefarious needs.

She glanced at the potion, turned the heat off with a wand-flick and ran back to her room, too depressed to attend the Halloween feast.

**Yes, I went there.  
Lyrics were by ****_Secret Door _****by Evanescence, (un)officially one of the best songs ever.  
Please R&R, and don't get mad at me for late posting.  
Next chapter will be INTENSE...hopefully. Silly Severus has a hair and a hunch, goodness knows what he's gonna do with those...More MoonyBells (Thank you Unicorn on fire, I love that reference! 3), and Dueling Club shenanigans.  
~ Koletis**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm back! And I have a Chapter 9 for you! I'm sad to say it's not my longest chapter...*has a sad*  
Thank you GinnyMercury, Juli Beawr, Bridge on Fire and Unicorn on Fire for reviewing! :D**

**Also, a few people have reviewed/PM'd me about whether there is going to be anything M-rated coming up. I am going to tell you NOW that there is not going to be ANY SMUT in future writing. I personally think that writing can be romantic and interesting without smut, and I fully intend to keep this as PG-13 as possible. The so-called 'werewolf hormones' were just due to their lycanthropy, and Bellua and Remus wouldn't risk having a werewolf child if they can help it. So no, there is, from now on, an unofficial no-shagging policy in my writing. :P**

**Anyhoo...Chapter 9. This one has some forshadowing stuff.**  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Her past battled with her fears to determine her nightmares. One moment, werewolf Remus was chasing her through the dark corridors of Hogwarts as eerie organ music filled the air. The wolf gained quickly, howling with mad glee, then invisible walls would close in around her, the blasting heat of the furnace driving terror into her heart as the full moon's glare shone down upon her. Her bones started to break and that organ's ghostly tune filled her ears and she knew the beast was coming again, locked in the room that pushed her to insanity...  
Bellua awoke at sunrise and barely contained a horrified scream, certain she could still feel her own claws raking down her side. Once she'd stopped gasping for breath she touched the area gingerly, as if fearing it would burn her small hand. Relief washed over her as her fingers only brushed an old scar, not the sticky warmth of blood. Even so, she winced as she stood up, feeling nearly as sore as if she'd just recovered from another full moon. Knowing she couldn't get back to sleep, she stood and went to take a long shower, certain it wouldn't help but also knowing she needed to think. She hated swimming, or showering, or doing anything involved in showing skin. Because whenever she looked down she was brutally reminded of how hideously the monster had changed her, left her marked beyond repair.

_Remus said I was beautiful..._a tiny, hopeful voice in her mind murmured in her ear. Deep inside she knew the voice would not fade, so instead of wishing it away she clung it, the spark of hope being kindled into a flame.

_But the kiss..._It was as if the water of the bath had penetrated that inner flame, drowning it in black water of despair. How could they deal with something so beyond their control, two beasts that defied nature, defied the laws of what was right? Two monsters determined to rip each other to shreds. _Or were they? _She recalled that feeling of mad desire and shivered despite the warmth of the water cascading across her thin shoulders. How far...how far would they have gone, how little control had she really had?

The most horrific part of this was that she hoped, dearly, that she could relax for at least a few weeks of the month. At least she could act normal.

The soft fabric of the towel wrapped around her rubbed against one of the more evident scars, which bit into her forearm. It was a bite, not a scratch...meaning no spells would heal it, meaning it took far longer to heal. Not even the _Vulnera Sanentur_ healing charm could repair these, much to her dismay. All but one of them were her own teeth, and still hurt if hit the wrong way. Grimacing, Bellua covered the marks as quick as she could with her pajamas, hoping to get some sleep. _Then again..._she recalled her rapidly-moving, dark nightmare. _Maybe I shouldn't._

So when Lily awoke, Bellua was fully dressed and doing homework despite the earliness of the day. Her head constantly nodded, telling the red-haired Gryffindor that she hadn't gotten much sleep. "You okay, Bellua?" She asked, stretching her arms over her head in a huge stretch.

Bellua jumped at first, but relaxed when she saw Lily's tired face. "Oh, yeah. I just didn't get much...much..." She yawned widely mid-sentence, "Sleep."

"You weren't at the Halloween feast." Lily noted as she pulled slipped into her school robes.

"I know." Bellua packed up her parchment and straightened, the bones in her arms popping as she stretched them over her head. "I was doing extra curriculum Potions work with Severus Snape, and was tired afterwards."

Lily's face fell and she looked away. "Oh."

Bellua thought about her and Severus's most recent exchange, and said, "You too know each other, right?"

"I'm not friends with Snape, if that's what you mean." Lily protested hotly, cheeks flushing.

"He does like you, you know." She pointed out, jumping from her bed and straightening, more joints popping in protest.

"Well, if he's going to choose the Death Eater goons over our friendship, I want nothing to do with him." But her voice was deeply with hurt, and Bellua walked over to the other girl.

"Hey," She said softly. "He'll come around, okay? Even if it takes years, he'll come around."

Lily straightened, stood up and said, "I don't believe whatever he says. He's a Death Eater now, and I don't connect with Death Eaters." And promptly left. Bellua bit her lip, watching the other girl leave, and grabbed her bag, not realizing how tired she was until she nearly fell down the stairs.

It was going to be a long day.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

Remus noticed she was tired as soon as he saw her. Maybe it was just in comparison to his friends' thrilled enthusiasm for the Dueling Club, or the fact that she had missed breakfast, or just the idea of several hours of monotonous History still to go, but Bellua looked exhausted. Her drooping eyelids barely gave her dull blue gaze any space and she slumped into her chair. Remus raised his eyebrows and scooted closer to her, whispering, "Did you get any sleep last night?"

She rubbed her eyes and looked at wearily. "Oh, hey." Blinking rapidly, she edged the rest of the way over to him. "No, I just woke up, couldn't get back to sleep. I had, uh, nightmares." She rubbed the back of her and smiled sheepishly, worry flashing in her tired eyes.

"Do you...usually have nightmares?" He raised his eyebrows. If she was losing sleep, getting haunted by her past...he'd want to know.

"I have for years." She grimaced.

"I...didn't know that." He said after a moment's pause.

"I'll explain after." She straightened and withdrew her books as the drab Professor Binns, looking as sleepy as Bellua felt, drifted into view.

"Now then," He said in a thin, bored-sounding drawl. "Let's continue on the Giant Wars, shall we? During the reign of Ozgog the Heavy, the number of giants decreased greatly, for..."

Remus, ever attentive despite the boredom so thick it was like fog in the air, continued to catch every note possible. _Ozgog the Heavy, Jumunt the Strong-Skull, Freg the Decapitator...no, that can't be right, could a giant pronounce such a long word? Probably why he didn't last very long._

But that was about as much as his mind, bursting with far more important questions, could handle. His gaze instead flicked over to Bellua, who was diligently trying to copy every date and number despite her drooping eyelids. She's always seemed so alert in class until now, and although he'd suspected she may have nightmares about her past, their frequency surprised him.  
The kiss. His mind rolled over it again and again, replaying the images but not quite able to recapture the feeling flawlessly. This bothered him, not because he thought it was a _good _feeling, but simply because it unnerved him.

_Thump._ Bellua's head had just smacked against the desk as she dropped off. The werewolf considered waking her, but figured she'd need the sleep and could always copy his notes after. Besides, four other students, including James, were also asleep. He didn't blame them.

Potions was almost as bad for Bellua – at least she could keep up but her head was constantly nodding and tiny yet constant mistakes in their antidotes earned her extra homework, to her dismay.

"I can't believe I just did that! How could I ruin my average so easily?!" She buried her head in her hands at lunch.

"Considering how well you do _every other _week, I'm sure it won't affect your progress." Remus sympathized.

"But our O.W.L.s are some of the most important tests we'll ever take!

What if I miss a vital point from what we did today that's in the test?" She ranted, fatigue forgotten as she was clearly frantic. "And what if-"

"_Hey_." He held her arm and looked her in the eye. "Calm down, all right? If some of the dopes in sixth year could get an O.W.L. in Potions, so can you. Besides, it's only Monday – you have loads of time to finish your homework."

"I suppose." She fiddled with her hands, food untouched in front of her. Remus sighed and edged the food forward. "Eat," he ordered. "You'll feel better."

Smiling weakly as a sort of thanks, she lifted a sandwich from her plate but paused just before it reached her mouth. "Remus," She said quietly. "We need to discuss...stuff. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do." His expression was unreadable.

"Then I want you to know that I don't think it'll hinder our friendship." She said.

"What about...I dunno, besides friendship?" He mentally cursed the complete lack of delicacy in his words.

She looked straight at him and didn't smile. "I don't know."

He gave her a weak, lopsided smile. "Want to talk about it?"

"I could do that." _Do it, do it, do it. _She hesitated, then restrained herself to just taking his hand under the table and squeezing it. He smiled wider and gripped it in return, neither feeling any need to let go. Electricity seemed to course through her scarred fingers as they made contact with his and she barely kept herself seated. _It'd be the worst time ever, _she mused, _to be taking Veritaserum right now._ The dreaded, recurring dream of taking truth serum in front of a classroom popped into her head, and her smile almost dropped. Almost.

"Hola, lovebirds!" Sirius waved cheerily to them, plopping down next to Bellua and beaming. The sheer messiness of his long hair suggested he'd either dropped off in Potions or had been caught by some sort of controlled tornado in the hallways, but that state couldn't keep the grin from his face.

Remus raised his eyebrows and said dryly, "Padfoot, we're holding hands."

"Yeah, and that's enough for me to tease you." He replied merrily, grabbing a sandwich and taking a far-too-big mouthful. Bellua and Remus exchanged a glance and Sirius practically leapt on them, trying to speak around his mouthful of food, "Dere! Wight dere, cwap wike dat wiff all o' duh _knowing wooks _an' shtuff." He swallowed to speak more clearly as Bellua and Remus laughed. "And I mean seriously, two 'furry little problems' in the same house and year? Y'all were meant for each other, or something cheesy like that."

"Is this a way of saying you approve, or that you've got nothing better to do?"

"Bit of both, Bells. James is busy with extra Quidditch practice – they got smoked yesterday, three hundred to sixty." He made a face, and Bellua realized she'd barely given a single thought to the match. _I'm really losing it, aren't I? _She thought to herself before saying, "Well, that stinks."

"There's talk about kicking people off of the team. Not Prongs, though – he's the best Chaser they've had in years."

"He'll make it in time for the first Dueling Club meeting, right?"

"Right. We gotta go in fifteen minutes or so. Prepare to kick some Slytherin behind."

"You know, today is just a demonstration, and for all you know we could be paired up against each other later on." Remus pointed out as he finished his plate.

"Then try to aim over my shoulder and hit Crabbe, okay?" Sirius shot them a grin before stuffing his face even more.

"Should I be amused or worried that you've suggested that?" Bellua arched an eyebrow questioningly.

"Play it safe and say worry," Remus muttered. "Because I don't doubt for a second that he'll actually do it."

Bellua laughed and dug into her sandwich, fatigue all but forgotten. Time for a little dueling...and perhaps, in the case of a certain pack of Slytherins, a little payback.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

The Dueling Club room was packed, even with only fifth-years and up allowed. The expressions on the faces of students ranged from nervous excitement to cocky confidence to vicious eagerness to terrified regret. Bellua's face remained placid, as she refused to dwell on an opinion of what to expect, as to not be disappointed in any way. Everyone hushed into immediate silence when Ancient Runes teacher Madison Delestra and DADA teacher (only for one year so far, of course) Judas Sovnya emerged. The dark-eyed DADA professor stepped onto a huge dueling table in the center of the room and announced in his deep, dramatic tone,

"Welcome, all thirty-nine who were brave enough to come to the second Hogwarts Dueling Club. Professor Dumbledore has been kind enough to let me open thisto train you in case any of you ever need to defend yourselves. It's a dangerous world out there, as some of you will realize sooner than others. Professor Delestra has very kindly offered to assist me with this demonstration outlining what we may be doing in the future. Now, which of you know the basic Shielding Charm?"

Few hands were raised, only four of which were fifth-years – Bellua's being one of them.

"Well, let us demonstrate then, shall we, Professor Delestra?" With a huge flourish of his wand, Sovnya cried, "_Expelliarmus!"_

"_Protego!"_ Delestra shouted, flicked her wand. A brilliant blue light burst from her wand, forming a rippling shield of air and magic around her front so that the Disarming Charm was reflected on its caster, sending Sovnya hurtling backwards several feet. Several students gasped aloud, as if expecting him to emerge badly injured. But instead, he simply stood after a moment, cracked his neck, dusted off his rich burgundy robes, and grinned. "Excellent work, Professor! Now, students, the incantation word is _Protego. _Repeat after me, very clearly now, _Protego." _Nearly every student in the hall chanted the word, although Bellua noticed some eye-rolls from the Death Eaters or smart-alecks of the group. Sovnya, however, appeared not to notice as he continued cheerily. "Fantastic. Now let's get some volunteers who know the spell, shall we? One from each house...You, Mr. Longbottom! I've heard you're good with a wand. And for Ravenclaw, how about Mr. Talence, come up now, don't be shy. There we go, Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff first. Now, let's try a real duel, shall we?" The murmurs of excitement below proved this to be a popular idea. "Yes, yes, now, I want you both to fight, nothing to serious, and include some good Shield Charms, okay? Now...BEGIN!"

"_Expelliarmus!" _Longbottom cried with a grand flourish of his wand.

"_Protego!" _Was Talence's immediate response. To everyone's wonder, the bright scarlet light of the Disarming Charm ricocheted off of the blue shield and nearly struck its caster.

"_Entomorphis!"_

"_Protego! Expelliarmus!"_

"_Protego!" _

"SILENCIO!" They both shouted at once, rendering each other mute and greatly reducing the creativity of their spells. Clearly the sixth-years had not practiced their non-verbal skills, Bellua realized as the impressive display grew...to be frank, less impressive. She found herself muttering corrections and pointing out mistakes under her breath, which made Remus whisper to her, "I assume you practiced non-verbal spells."

"Well, otherwise they can always see what's coming." She replied calmly as, with a drastic wand-wave from Talence, Frank shot off of the edge of the dueling table and landed heavily on the floor, surrounded by stunned fifth-years.

"Excellent, Mr. Talence!" Sovnya applauded them, along with several other students. "See how efficiently the _Protego _charm deflects spells – it is one of very few ways to deflect jinxes and curses of such, and may just save your skins one day students. Now, enough chatter, let's gather up two more students, a Gryffindor and a Slytherin...how about you, Mulciber? And...Ms. Dimid, up you two come..." Bellua barely contained her shock and excitement as she stood on one end of the huge table. Mulciber gave her a particularly nasty sneer as he prepared. The Death Eater was in her year, but by his attitude and cruel grin as they neared the center, it was clear he thought very little of his opponent. They gestured with their wands and bowed, Mulciber barely even nodding his head, Bellua keeping her eyes on the large boy at all times. When they'd turned and assumed their battle positions, the Slytherin's expression was livid and ugly, as if he was about to make a brutal example of the small girl before him. Bellua's face remained unreadable, her wand raised slightly above her head.

"Very good, very good." Sovnya smiled. "Let's go until one of you falls, like before. Nothing too dangerous, please, and be sure to use the Shield Charm several times. Are you both ready? Then...be-"

"_Slugulus Eructo!" _Mulciber shouted, brandishing his wand dangerously as the deep green flash shot from it and scarcely missed Bellua. Her mouth dropped open and anger swelled in the pit of her stomach. That...that _thug _had broken the rules! He'd been given a chance to attack a Gryffindor, clearly what his heart desired, and he fights dirty? _Oh, if he wants a fight, he's going to get one. _"_Calvorio," _She snapped, creating a Hair-Loss Curse so powerful Mulciber's hasty _Protego _shield was shattered and all the hair from his arms, legs, head and even eyebrows and eyelashes vanished, leaving only reddened skin. With a smirk, she conjured a thick shield against his Disarming Charm non-verbally and suddenly Mulciber was on the defense, something he clearly had not practiced as much as his attacks. The cheering and booing students were barely acknowledged as she hit him with a non-verbal Pimple Jinx and blocked his _Levicorpus _spell, _Silencio_'ing him in the same move. Now he was forced to be as silent as she, but was far less efficient as he could not block her Disarming Charm, which sent his wand flying into the crowd. Suddenly he was unarmed, at the mercy of this girl with eyes that seemed blue as ice and twice as cold.

"Jump off," She said softly, her wand aimed at his chest.

"As if I'd give in to you." He tried to sneer.

She did not let her guard down from his goading. "You fought dirty, Mulciber. The least you can do is jump off."

"That's not going to happen, Dimid. Afraid to get your Gryffindor hands dirty and shove me off?"

"Fine, then, have it your way. _Aguamenti!" _She said almost dismissively, and a huge jet of water, much akin to a Muggle fire-hose, hit him full in the chest, blasting him off the edge of the table and sending him, drenched from head to toe, into a pack of Slytherin. Sovnya and Delestra both applauded her, along with several Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws and _all _of the Gryffindors. Sirius stuck his fingers in his mouth to let out a long, high whistle, making Bellua blush.

"Excellent, excellent." Sovnya smiled and helped Bellua down. "Now, I think that's a good start for today, give you a taste for things yet to come. Of course, _all_ of you will be able to test your skills against both rival and ally in future gatherings. Let's meet up again Thursday night for a longer meeting, does that sound good? Yes? Excellent. Someone get Talence and Mulciber to the hospital wing – Talence's bogies won't stop attacking him. Club dismissed." And with that blunt dismissal, the two teachers jumped from the Dueling table and opened the doors, allowing students to flock out, whispering excitedly.

"Nice one, Bells." Sirius grinned, clapping her over the shoulder.

"I agree." James and Peter were there, she realized, and her mind snapped back to the last time they'd spoken – the argument on Saturday. But the taller boy just smiled and said, "I doubt they can grow back Mulciber's hair, either. All in all, excellent work. Can't wait for when _we_ get to try it out."

"We already know _Protego,_" Remus pointed out, "But you really ought to show us those other ones, Bell." They headed out with the flock of Gryffindors, some of them clapping her on the shoulder or congratulating her.

"They're only basic hexes done non-verbally," Bellua insisted, brushing her hair back from her face.

"But non-verbal is still something to be reckoned with," Peter said with a smile.

"Ditto, Wormtail." Sirius nodded. "Anyway, we'll see you Ancient-Rune folks later." He gestured to Peter and James, and they followed suit as the Marauders parted ways, three headed for the north tower, two headed for the Ancient Runes classroom. Remus was silent for the first few moments before asking, "Where were you last night?"

"Oh..." She fiddled with her hands, feeling awkward. "Working on my Potions project."

"Ah." He paused for a moment before adding, "It's too bad. The feast was great."

"I heard." She smiled weakly, but the smile dropped and she turned to him and blurted, "Remus, are we able to keep dating?"

He turned to stare at her, shock on his handsome face. "What?!"

"I'm sorry to bring this up again, but it's been driving me crazy and you know exactly what I'm talking about! What about the...y'know, the 'werewolf hormones'? Can we deal with those? What if it's too dangerous? What'll happen at the full moon?" Her fists were clenched and she could barely manage the last few words, feeling threatening tears sting her eyes. They were alone in the corridor but she was still deeply embarrassed and ashamed by her outburst.

Remus licked his lips subconsciously, lost in thought. "Bell, you know that...that I would love to go out again. But if you think I'm too dangerous..." He trailed off.

"No. No, I don't want to stop. I really, _really _like you, Remus. I just don't know if it's...well, if it's safe."

He shook his head and smiled wryly, not looking at her. "You know," He muttered, "There's only one way to test it." He was red with embarrassment when he lifted his gaze, but still smiling crookedly.

Her eyes widened and she tried, desperately, to say no, tell him to think, but the roaring beat of her heart (which was screaming _yes, do it, _the whole time) seemed to block out any other thought or sound, besides Remus's words, "You okay?"

She wasn't breathing. Why wasn't she breathing? "Yeah, I'm okay." She whispered. He nodded, licked his lips again, leaned in and kissed her.

She stiffened at first, but then his thumb brushed her cheek and the rush of raw power hit her like a tidal wave, sweeping her off her feet and engulfing her until she was drowning in desire, her arms wrapping around his neck as his hands gripped her small waist. She knew almost immediately that she was losing this fight, as they kissed harder and he surged forward, pressing her against his hard chest and the wall. He growled around the kiss and she moved against him in response, feeling his grip on her waist tighten as they were both filled with animalistic desire, succumbing to the werewolves within...

But she wasn't a werewolf then.

These lustful thoughts were not forced upon her, not yet. The moon was only half-full. She was still Bellua, she realized. She could still think, still know that she was not kissing another wolf, but another human. She was kissing Remus, and knew that he had control too, that they could still pull back. _But who said I wanted to? _Another tidal wave rushed in to envelop her, but this time one she could ride, one she could _feel_ instead of drown in. Finally, she could kiss like a normal girl, have what felt like her first kiss without whispers in her mind. Her belly did flips and she could feel how soft his lips were, the warmth of his strong body and the blood roaring in her ears.

"Well, well, well."

Bellua and Remus jerked apart, both whipping around to see Avery, Crabbe and Goyle. The look on Avery's face was a blend of disgust, victory and amusement as he added, "Should I come back in a few minutes? You seem to be in the middle of something."

Bellua turned to him and growled, "Mind your own business, Avery. I know your head is thick but you should know by now that the halls don't belong to you,"

"How dare you speak to me," He snarled, "Filthy Mudblood, getting snogged senseless by Marauders like the slut you are-"

He was halfway through his rant when Remus roared in anger and ran forward, punching Avery across the face. Before Crabbe could disarm him Bellua was there, casting a strong Stinging Hex with a burst of white light. His mouth set in a grim line, Remus shouted, "_Expelliarmus!" _and sent Goyle hurtling backwards from the power of the spell. Suddenly Avery was alone, with two furious Marauders to fight. He reached for his wand and was yanked upwards with a _Levicorpus_,only to be thrown backwards by a massive jet of water.

"What is going on here?" Bellua jumped to turn around and see McGonagall staring, a mixture of surprise and anger on her face, at the Gryffindors surrounded by moaning Death Eaters.

"Professor." She gasped. "Uh, well..."

"They were insulting her." Remus deadpanned, looking as though he'd been caught committing an Unforgivable yet still bold. "I punched Avery, and the rest was, uh, defense." He reddened and looked at his shoes, Bellua trying to read McGonagall's stern expression.

"They're lying," Crabbe insisted. "We weren't doing anything wrong-"

"Has it ever occurred to you, Mr. Goyle, that I have been here all along?" The Professor raised her eyebrows at his stunned expression and said, "Get to class, you three. Now." Her cold tone proved she was dead serious, and the three scrambled up hastily and promptly ran, without even a dirty look.  
Then McGonagall turned to the two Gryffindors and said simply, "Were you telling the truth?"

Bellua and Remus both nodded. The Professor's gaze rested on Bellua for a moment longer than normal, then she nodded slightly and jerked her head. "Off you go, then."

"I...thanks." But then Bellua paused and asked, "Professor, were you really..."

"No, I wasn't. But I know those three well enough to have a guess at what happened." She grimaced. "Off to class now, you two."

Remus nodded quickly before grabbing Bellua's arm and gesturing for her to run. Which they did until reaching the Ancient Runes door, where Remus whispered to her, "Were you okay?"

"Yes." She could barely keep the elation from her voice. "Were you...were you okay?"

"Yeah." He grinned widely, kissed her cheek and pulled her into the Ancient Runes classroom, no one else in the room knowing what had ensued.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

It had started as a test of skill, a test he believed far more difficult than any class. He'd only read about it, made some guesses and estimations, and emerged victorious. From there, it had become a desperate way to reason with Lily. If she wouldn't speak to _Severus, _maybe she'd listen to Potter, or Lupin. He had toiled against its delicacy for weeks, as had almost lost hope in finding a hair before it had spoiled.

But now, thanks to Bellua's werewolf hair theory, Severus had the hair of who could only be Lupin, and his Polyjuice Potion was complete.  
Crouched in a corner of the girls' bathroom on the first floor, the Slytherin ignored the wails of Moaning Myrtle and poured a few swallows into a wide glass. Swallowing nervously, he dropped the long, thin strand of Lupin's hair into the glass. Would there be any complications, as he was a werewolf and cross-species transformation was impossible. _No, don't be stupid, _he told himself. _It's a mutation, not a complete transformation. He was born human, wasn't he? _He was surprised that he was defending werewolves in his mind, and convinced himself it was just his rarely-used optimism ordering him to just _drink _the potion, which had turned a shade of violet, swirling so quickly it seemed almost violet before settling on a shining lavender color. When he lifted it to his lips, it smelled like flowers. Hesitating over it, he inhaled deeply, and drank deeply. I wasn't as foul as he'd feared, but burned its way down his throat and numbed his lips. _Well, _he thought with a hint of dread. _Here goes-_

Immediately a wracking pain filled his body and he curled up, hugging himself tightly. He was shrinking, Severus realized with shock. Becoming smaller, thinner, and his arms stung as sharp slashes cut themselves along his skin, only to shrink into scars. His eyes widened and changed color, along with his hair, which grew to multiple times the original length. His robes hung off of him loosely and when he lifted himself up, he could tell he was proportioned in dramatically different ways. A part of mind whispered, _DON'T LOOK DOWN! _And he complied without knowing why. Still feeling weak, he stumbled over to a mirror, caught a glimpse of himself, and _screamed._

And Bellua's horrified face screamed back.

**Dun dun dun DUN...  
****Yes, Bellua has some enemies now.  
****I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors. Thank you for reading, and Chapter 10 is incoming!  
**~**Koletis**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hai! Finished Chapter 10 (obviously) and it is REALLY LONG! Important thingies happen!  
And thank you ****Invisi**** and ****Kyoki no Megami**** for reviewing, I really do appreciate it. :)  
****Now read!**

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

"Okay, okay, your turn, James."

James squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled deeply, and huge _things _sprouted from his forehead, hardening into antlers as his nose lengthened into a short snout and entire body growing at an alarming length, hands hardening into dark stumps and clothes shifting into coarse brown fur. And in a matter of seconds, a magnificent stag stood before Bellua and the Marauders in the boys' dormitory.

Bellua gasped and the Marauders cheered as James pranced around as much as he could in the tight space, nudging Peter as an indication. With considerably more effort, Wormtail shuddered, then shifted into the unmistakable shape of a rat. Sirius picked him up by the tail and was bit for his unkindness, to which Remus laughed and James snorted with amusement, Peter climbing up the stag's leg to perch on the his shoulder.

"There you have it," Sirius gestured grandly with his left hand, talking around the bitten finger he was sucking on. "The Marauders. We're not really good at shifting yet, but it's a good start, eh?"

"Definitely." She grinned, then her smile faltered and she added with slight hesitation, "Uh, Sirius, you can change too." She backed away a little but did not cower. In response, the curly-haired boy, like Peter, shuddered deeply, eyes shut as he, far faster than the others, shifted into the lean, canine shape of a huge dog, big as a wolf, with thick, shiny black fur and piercing yellow eyes. Bellua's breathing quickened as she stepped towards the Marauder, touching Sirius's coat as gingerly as if she expected it to burst into flames. When it didn't meet her assumption, she relaxed and ran her hand along his coat, scratching his back and making him grunt with pleasure. She jumped at the sound and he pulled back, but she forced herself to step towards him, hair on the back of her neck on end. "God," She murmured. "That's impressive." There was a hint of apprehension in her tone, but she was brave enough to continue patting him.

He gave her a wolfish grin and licked her hand. "Ah, gross, Padfoot!" She yelped at the sudden wetness, and he barked with laughter and scratched his ear, totally at ease. Bellua couldn't help but smile as she retreated back to Remus on the far side of the room.

"We tried getting Moony one for a little while," Peter had shifted back into his human form, although he still had buck teeth and was struggling to remove them with his wand as he added, "But we worried it'd be, well, y'know, the shape of a werewolf."

Remus walked over and smiled sadly. "I'm not even sure if I could. By Ministry terms I'm technically not a human, so I might not be allowed to, either."

"Who ever cared about what the Ministry said?" James rolled his eyes – he too had changed back, although Sirius seemed quite content in his Animagus form and remained the black dog, watching them intently as they spoke. Noticing this, James turned to him and said, "Sirius, mate, you love that form so much you should make it permanent."

At that, Sirius shifted back and grinned, picking dog hair from his robes as he said, "The tail's not so bad, once you get used to it. But I'm not going to risk getting fleas." He looked over at Bellua. "So now are you going to come?"

"Come...come where?" She frowned.

"Come to the Shrieking Shack every full moon with the rest of us." He said it as if it was obvious.

"But wouldn't Remus and I fight? We might've not bit each other last time but that's not making any promises." She fiddled with the sleeve of her robes as she spoke.

"Yeah, but now that you two are _together_ and all maybe they'd be okay with-"

"Are you saying I have control?" She said a little too quickly. "Werewolves are built to kill and bite, and if they can't kill and bite humans they kill and bite themselves, and if there's another werewolf around they kill and bite _that._" She scowled. "And an Animagus werewolf is completely possible, it just means the assumed shape is probably going to be more difficult to function during the days nearing and leaving the full moon. You're not the only ones who have studied it. I've tried for years but never managed to _completely _change."

Remus stared. Bellua turned to him and pointed out, "And since when were we officially _together_?"

He had barely taken all her words in before she asked the question, so just shrugged and said, "It's news to me too."  
"Oh God, we're not being gossiped about, are we?" It was late Wednesday evening – two days after the clash with the Death Eaters, and they'd done practically all their homework together...and kissed again in a broom closet. For some reason, the thought of whispers spreading throughout the school shocked her – and knowing how infamous the Marauders were, it _would _spread around that one of them was dating, even if it was only for four days.

Bellua's expression looked so horrified that James laughed aloud before replying, "Oh, no, don't worry. If there's any gossiping, it's just us three." He gestured dramatically to Sirius, Peter and himself.

The notion of the Marauders whispering to each other like second-year girls made Bellua smile before she said, "Which books did you borrow from?"

"Ones we weren't supposed to touch," James said with a touch of pride in his tone. "All in the Restricted Section. I had to use my Invisibility Cloak to get in-"

"You have an Invisibility Cloak?" She gaped.

"Sure do. C'mon, I'll show you." He leapt across Sirius's bed to reach the trunk at the foot of his own, rifling through it and tossing a piece of parchment on the bed before withdrawing the silvery sheet and tossing it around himself, immediately vanishing. Bellua gasped and Sirius shoved the air next to him, causing James to stumble out of the Cloak and land on the bed, crunching the parchment underneath him. "Gah!" He yelped and shot off of the bed like it had electrocuted him. "Careful, man! You could've wrinkled it!"

"Wrinkled what?" She reached for the parchment, only to have James snatch it out of reach.

"This," He said, shaking it at her like she was a naughty child. "And you're not allowed to touch it until it's finished."

"Finished?" She raised her eyebrows but did not reach for the parchment.

"Yeah, it's only partway done." He said happily.

"Can I see it?"

"I just said you couldn't-"

"-Touch it. I just want to look at it." She batted her eyelashes and said in a four-year-old voice, "Puh-leeeeese?"

He laughed and gave in, saying, "Okay, okay," And held the parchment out, tapping it with his wand and saying, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." And with slowly, in response to the magic words, words appeared on the parchment, bold and clear.

She whispered the words as she read them, then looked at Remus and said disbelievingly, "The Marauder's Map?"

"Yup." He beamed. "An entire map of Hogwarts, including all ." As he spoke, James unfolded it and Bellua peered at the words, 'James Potter,' In the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. Impressed but still puzzled, she asked, "Then why isn't it finished?"

"Well," Sirius scratched the back of his head. "We're not quite sure how to do it, but we're going to enchant it to show the positions of everyone in the school, not the just the holder. That way, we'd never get caught doing anything."

She stared. "You realize that's very advanced magic, right?"

He shrugged, saying cheerfully, "So is becoming an Animagus, but we managed that, didn't we?" His smile widened and he asked, "Want to help us work on it?"

"What?" James folded it immediately. "Are you sure we should? I mean, if news of this gets out..."

"Of course we should, she's smarter than any of us," Remus said, smiling, and Peter nodded in agreement. "And besides, goodness knows we could use some help."

"I...sure, I guess I could. But tomorrow, okay? It's getting late and I don't want to be locked out of the..." She paused, and said quietly, "What time is it?"

"Ten fifty-two," Sirius said happily, making Bellua pale.

"Oh, crap. I haven't finished my homework and am SO not supposed to be in here this late, gotta go bye!" She rushed through the words as quickly as she grabbed her pack and promptly ran out the door, barely finishing her sentence until she had burst into the common room. Since all the chairs were available, she chose the best one, closest to the hearth and stuffed with cushions until the thick fabric almost burst. Snuggling into it, she smiled as a wand-flick created a roaring fire and delved into her work, which unfortunately was History of Magic, which she'd fallen behind on ever since she fell asleep in class.

_Falling asleep. That sounds really good right now_...her mind murmured.

"Shut up," she said aloud, but it didn't seem to help the overwhelming fatigue, until consciousness became as bothersome as the homework lying in front of her. She didn't really care, to be truthful, which giants were which, so why learn? Why not drift into the peaceful slumber; it was sure to come anyway. _I'm never going to finish this. _She realized glumly, she headed towards the girls' dormitory and reached for the doorknob...only to find it locked. Groaning in exasperation, she turned on her heel and stepped down the stairs, nearly tripping as she wandered to her homework, gathered it up and dropped it in a barely neat pile at the foot of the couch. Sighing at her clumsiness, she glanced at the couch, then shrugged and lay down on it, facing the dying fire. _It must be passed midnight, _she realized, _If the girls' room is closed. God, how could I lose track of time? I'm so foolish...Tired, but foolish...especially tired..._She closed her eyes carefully, sighing gently as air escaped her lips...

_Then a heavy thump awoke her, her eyes snapped open to see a pair of shoes in the fire, as the Floo powder user stepped into view. Dressed in blue and black silk and velvet, his steely gaze flashed angrily as he surged forward, teeth bared in fury. Terrified, Bellua rolled off of the couch and leapt behind it, crying it when he threw it aside with strength she would have not credited him for. Another figure was emerging from the hearth, just as flawless-looking and pale and furious. Her blonde hair was tied back to reveal her face, wrought with a cruel grin and an unhinged desire for vengeance. "Oh, look at you, not so brave now, are you?" Jocelyn Meracus smiled as her husband backed the fifth-year into the corner. _

"_I was never brave!" She yelled. "You monster beat it out of me!" She bolted, but Silas Meracus grabbed her arms and bent them behind her back. Jocelyn strode forward with perfect poise and dark eyes glinting with madness. _

"_Never," She punched the her daughter across the face, bloodying Bellua's lip and nose, "Call," Another punch for every pause. "Me. A. MONSTER!" With the last shriek, Bellua nose was broken. She cried out and struggled futilely against her father's grip as Jocelyn withdrew a long wand with a jewel embedded in its hilt. _"Crucio!"

_And the worst pain Bellua had ever experienced tore through her and she cried out again until she screamed, and screamed until no sound came out, mouth wide open in a silent scream of agony. Silas dropped her onto the floor, grinning as though this was the greatest thing he had ever seen._

"_You know, daughter," He mused as the spell was cut off and she curled up into a tiny ball and shut her eyes tight against the tears. "No matter how terrible you've felt, the Cruciatus Curse can always do worse. Fascinating, really. Perhaps why it is so useful. When the Dark Lord comes to power, we can use it as much as we want. That sort of power is just...delicious."_

_The girl on the floor panted, whispering, "You're animals." _

_Face twisted with rage, Jocelyn lashed out, her heel digging into Bellua side in a brutal kick. She gasped in pain and clutched her side as her mother hissed, "Don't you _dare _use those terms on us when you're such a filthy thing yourself! You ruined our blood line, ruined our name, ruined our lives, you filthy little half-breed. Don't think for a moment that you can escape us. They might think they can trap us in Azkaban, but just you wait, 'darling'." She sneered the word. "You guessed correctly that we are Legilimens, and finally, after getting so clos,e we're finally here, causing hell. And even if the damned prison unhinges us, it can't stop us! We'll inflict as much-" She kicked Bellua again, "Pain it takes to satisfy us." _

_Silas smiled. "And trust me...daughter...he leaned closer, grabbed her hair and dragged her face up to meet his. It was a mess, bloodied and bruised with a black eyes and fear in her gaze, compared to his angular and handsome face. Handsome, besides the sadistic glint in his eyes. "It will take a _lot _of pain to please us. Perhaps we already are unhinged. Jocelyn certainly is." He smirked, then slammed her head into the floor twice. She could do nothing but moan painfully and he stood and said, "Of course, it doesn't have to be _just _you we hurt, as I'll bet you've made a couple of bratty friends. Shall we begin with your dear Mr. Lupin?"_

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

Remus couldn't sleep. He didn't know why, but the only logical notion was that he couldn't get comfortable. No matter how he moved, there seemed to be something jabbing at his side. Perhaps he'd forgotten something, like a millimeter in his thirteen-inch Potions essay, or hadn't sent the letter to his parents. Sighing, he sat up and rubbed the back of his head, feeling the need to do..._something. _Maybe it was the nagging thought that having sound mufflers on the outsides of the doors was a bad idea. What if something happened outside? He wouldn't hear a sound unless he was within six inches of the door. Neither could the girls, he remembered. Yes, that was almost certainly why he was awake, because of his darned paranoia. Realizing he would never drift of contentedly until the problem was solved, he grabbed his wand and a shirt and left the fifth-year's dorm, then the boys' dormitory. He didn't spare the common room a second glance as he tapped the door twice, beginning to turn off the sound barrier and, hopefully, give himself a moment of relaxation.

He had just shut the door and begun the process when she screamed behind him.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Remus jumped out of his skin at the horrific cry and, brandishing his wand like a sword, ran to the couch, where Bellua was gasping for breath and shuddering all over, hugging her small, scarred body and whimpering. Her blue eyes were squeezed shut and tears streamed from them. Terrified for her, Remus dropped next to her and reached out carefully, pulling her into a tight embrace and murmuring words of comfort in her ear until she stopped shaking.

"R-R-Remus..." She hugged him close and he returned it, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple and she clung to him like he was the one other human left on Earth. "T-T-They're Legilimens...they're going to find us..."

"Shhh, it was just a nightmare." _Just a nightmare? _He thought dryly. _She's going into bloody shock! _"It wasn't your fault, everyone's safe." He murmured. "Could you not get back into the girl's dorm?"

She shook her head and so he whispered, "Do you want to come sleep in the boy's dorm?"

Her head snaps up, tearstained head shaking, "Oh no, I couldn't..."

"Well, you certainly can't sleep out here." He smiled weakly at her. "Mostly because I'm not letting you go through hell again."

"I...okay." She rose to stand, holding Remus's hand tightly in her own pale one. The way he smiled, the glow of sympathy in his eyes, was all becoming very familiar to her in such a short amount of time. Whatever was causing this, she liked it, and didn't want to let go.

Remus glanced back at her as they reach his bed and said, slightly awkwardly, "Which side do you want?"

"Whichever side you don't," She said stubbornly, so he sighed, pulled off his shirt and lay on the left, gesturing at the free half of bed. Biting her lips, she pulled off her sweater, shoes and stockings until she was only in the white shirt and grayish skirt before lying down. While he allowed himself to completely stretch out, she curled up, facing away from him. With astonishing speed she drifted into sleep, rolling over so her head and hand rested on his strong chest. He smiled at her warmly, stroking her hair, until he too began to fall into unconsciousness...

A gentle sob startled him, and he looked down to see her face contorted with fear and a silvery tear trickling from the side of her face. _Dear God, is she ever at peace? _Very gently, he squeezed her hand and she returned it, whispering apologies he would not accept as he soothed her with gentle words, stroking her hair again and kissing her gently.  
"I won't let them get you, Remus...I won't let them..." She whispered.

"I believe you." He hugged her a little tighter. "I believe you."

It was a long time before they fell asleep.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

Oftentimes, when Bellua's eyes would snap open and she would bite into her pillow to stop from yelling, her first sensation would be overwhelming relief that she was in her own room. But today, when she blinked awake from a surprisingly easy sleep, she knew her night would have been far more terrifying anywhere but next to Remus. He was still asleep, she noticed, and the steady heartbeat under her ear was strangely soothing to her. Almost subconsciously she traced one of his many scars, fingers barely brushing the rough skin. Perfectly content where she was, she waited patiently for him to awaken, still running her fingers over his scars.

After what felt like no time at all, he sighed and opened his eyes, looking at Bellua through eyes still blurry from sleep. "Hey," He mumbled.

She smiled slightly. "Hi."

"Get any sleep last night?"

"A bit." He hugged her closer and kissed her forehead, saying, "We should probably get up."

"Right..." She trailed off, not wanting to admit how happy she would be to stay put yet understand why it was necessary. Nodding, she sat up and looked down at her exposed arms and scars. Making a face, Remus sat up next to her and said, "It never gets old, does it?"

She grimaced and shook her head, and he hugged her around the shoulders, then grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head. Following his movements, she grabbed her extra clothing from the floor and pulled it on hastily, for once not feeling much extra comfort from them.

"Ahhhhhh..." Sirius groaned and sat up, smacking his lips together and peering around sleepily, hair even more disheveled than Bellua's. "Heyo Moony, hey Bells...BELLS?!" He did a double take, jaw dropping open.

She rolled her eyes and cut him off just before he spoke. "Shut up. I know what you were going to ask, and the answer is no. And now everyone's awake." Her eyes narrowed as James and Peter jumped upright almost simultaneously. Remus reddened slightly and said under his breath, "See you at breakfast, then?"

"Sure." She left hurriedly, not bothering to wonder how on earth he would explain this entire thing, more concerned about making it out of the boys' dorm without being caught. Just her luck, crashing into Lily as she ran into her room. Lily blinked at her, raising her eyebrows. "Fell asleep on the couch doing homework," Bellua insisted, which seemed to be good enough for the redhead.

"That explains your hair, I suppose." Her own locks in fiery pigtails, she smiled jokingly at Bellua's blush and said, "Better hurry, Claire and Riley are especially cranky today."

"I didn't know you disliked them," She commented simply.

"I don't. I just don't like people that won't accept apolo...shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

"I know what you were going to say." She snapped, suddenly agitated. "See you at breakfast." And she promptly left. Bellua bit her lip. _I need to talk to Severus, _she understood, but wasn't particularly looking forward to it. Sighing, she stepped into her room and changed out of her wrinkled sweater into a new one, completely forgetting about Claire and Riley until the latter whispered, "Oh my God..."

Startled, Bellua whipped around to see Riley staring at her exposed, scarred arms. Jaw clenched, she said simply, "Yes, I have scars. Thank you for pointing them out, Riley."

"They're...they're...hideous"

"Yeah. I know." Bellua glared.

Riley looked stunned, but said, "Are you dating Remus Lupin?"

"Why do you care about my social life when you've completely extricated yourself from it?" She said coldly.

"Claire thinks you're playing with him and Severus Snape."

"Well I don't care what Claire thinks."

"I agree with her."

Bellua paused, just for a moment, then finished pulling on her sweater and said, "I don't care what you think, either."

"Bellua, I think you should apologize."

She froze, then stood up from loading her bag and said, stunned, "What?"

"For not telling us you were a werewolf." She lifted her chin defiantly as she spoke.

"Wait," Bellua stepped forward until she was a foot from Riley, somehow far more intimidating despite being three inches shorter. "You're saying that you would have accepted it if I had told you?"

"Well, we won't know now, will we-"

"Actually I do know." Her eyes were dark as she spoke, "You would've been just as terrified, you would've still thought I was a terrible monster. Do I look like a terrible monster? I'm five foot five, for God's sake, Riley! I've never hurt a person in my life! Just because I lose it for eight hours a month does not make me a _terrible _dark creature you can't trust. It took me twelve years to realize that, and it'll take you longer. I don't have anything to apologize for." And with that, she grabbed her bag and stormed out the door.

Riley's face contorted with anger as her fists clenched and unclenched. Bellua would pay for scorning Riley McGuire like that. Hopefully very soon.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

Werewolves. Stupid, damned werewolves. Why hadn't he guessed? Why hadn't he seen everything? Now that he had found the last piece of the puzzle, it was all clear to him. Bellua Dimid was clever, yes, clever enough to make him wonder why she hadn't been put in Ravenclaw. But no one outsmarted Severus Snape. After the longest hour of his life was spent pacing, hyperventilating and swearing at Moaning Myrtle until he'd finally changed back into a male, he'd understood everything. Why she was so secretive, so strange, so determined to finish the potion and ace every test. Why she covered herself up. Why Jackson and McGuire had abandoned her. Why she hung out with the Marauders, or most importantly, _Lupin._

Yes, he'd test her tonight. See if she crumbled, see just how good she was. So, seventy and a half hours later, he and Bellua met up to continue the work on the Wolfsbane Potion, just after dinner that night. The room was, as always, cold and silent until she approached. Smiling vaguely, she said, "Hi."

He just nodded and said, "We'd better hurry."

"Hurry, yes. Right."

"And I have moonstone."

Her eyes widened. "Seriously?"

He smirked a little – it'd taken some doing, but he most certainly had. "Not much, though. We'd better hurry."

"Of course. Thank you so much for getting that." _She sounds truly grateful, _he thought, feeling slightly discouraged from his task.

They headed in and Severus said softly, "The Death Eaters hate you now, by the way."

She snorted and replied, "I assumed."

"Avery says he caught you and Lupin snogging in the hallway."

She paused for a brief moment, then continued to withdraw the cauldron full of liquid, careful not to lose a single drop. "That's correct."

"Lupin's dangerous, you know."

She glanced over, then looked back down at her notes, smiling slightly. "Only eight to nine hours a month."

"Yes, but if you're the main person on his mind when he shifts, you're the target."

Without looking up, she replied crossly, "So you're saying that every girl he's ever dated has been torn to bloody bits?"

He reddened. "Well, no, but some werewolves do begin to...succumb to their animalistic nature. You've heard of Fenrir Greyback, haven't you?"

"Of course I have."

"Then you should know to avoid him, especially if you're working on something like this." He remarked calmly.

"With that logic, Severus, I could see Bellatrix and believe that all Slytherin were out of their bloody minds. I'm being careful, trust me. But I _do _appreciate you caring." She shot him a gentle smile and Severus felt sick. Which was strange, considering how often he'd manipulated people before this. "Uh, sure." Seemed to be all he could say before passing her the small jar of powdered moonstone from his bag.

"Can people send dreams through Legilimency?" She wondered aloud.

He turned, confused. "Possibly, why?"

"Just curious." She lied.

Determined to get back on track, he asked, "Do you need more of Lupin's hairs?"

"What? Oh, no, I'm not even sure they were necessary." She admitted.

"Are you going to test this on him?"

"Once I'm sure it's not poisonous or harboring any side effects, yes. Could you check this for a moment? I need to read up on the moonstone."

Taking her place by the cauldron, he stirred gently, thoughts raging through his mind ceaselessly. "How do you intend to test these 'side effects'?"

She paused, then sighed and admitted, "Not sure. S'pose I could charm Mrs. Norris or something and get her to drink it, but that's probably to risky, isn't it?" She made a face.

Severus couldn't take any more. "Funny," He snapped. "Because I was pretty sure you wanted to test it on yourself first."

She stopped, exhaling and saying disbelievingly, "So you're saying I should test the poison levels on myself?"

"No." He stepped forward, hand reaching for his wand but not grabbing it as he spoke with disdain. "I'm saying you want this for yourself..._werewolf._"

She stared at him, eyes wide. He almost regretted it, and couldn't read her features beyond the fear and shock etched onto her pale face. "You know." She didn't cry it out, or whisper, she just said it blankly.

For some reason her response angered him. "Of course I know, what do you take me for? One of your idiot friends?" He snapped. "You should have..." No, he realized. No, she shouldn't have told him. He would've left her, been disgusted and horrified. Merlin's Beard, he was a Slytherin! He wouldn't just let such valuable information rest in his mind. He's use it, abuse it, until as many Gryffindors were expelled as possible.

"What..." She trailed off, fiddling with her hands. "What are you going to do?"

He considered it, only for a brief moment, "It's not what I'm _going _to do. It's what I'm _not _going to do."

She stared. "What?"

"I mean," He leered forward. "What are you going to do to keep me from spilling?"

But the lost expression was gone as soon as he spoke. "Well," She started, face contorted with anger. "I'm going to stop telling the Marauders to leave you alone and let them beat the stuffing out of you. I'm going to tell Lily Evans what a heartless squid you are. I'm going to give you no credit for the potion so you get no profit and have to stay in those horrible second-hand robes. AND I'm going to take back my copy of _Advanced Potions-Making, _and I'll break your nose and jaw to make up for healing it!" She smacked him across the face, just like she'd done to James long ago, and approached the Slytherin with dark eyes. "You want me as your enemy, Severus?Go ahead, your hand's already on your wand, make the first move."

He stared at her, clutching his lip which had started to bleed. "How dare you..." He growled. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but without me you'd have no potion to begin with!"

"Oh, of course!" She laughed darkly, any effort of reining in her fiery tongue and temper gone. "Yes, so I owe it ALL to you now, do I? Do you want me expelled, _Snape_? So you can brag to your Death Eater friends about just how _loyal _you are? You want to know what Lily Evans said? She told me the reason she won't accept your apology is because she knows you're _not sorry!_"

"Don't you DARE bring her up!" He roared, hands clenched into fists. "I AM sorry and never say I'm not!"

"Listen, if she had been _any other _Muggle-born, you wouldn't've felt a bit of remorse." She hissed. "You know what the Death Eaters will do when they leave Hogwarts? Join this rumored Dark Wizard uprising and kill off as many Muggle-borns as they can! They're monsters and you've gone and become one too!"

"I AM NOT A MONSTER!" He yelled.

"THEN STOP ACTING LIKE ONE!" She screamed back.

Then the door swung open and Bellatrix Black grinned in the doorway like it was the happiest moment of her life.

"Huh. So Jackson was telling the truth, you do meet here." She said cheerily. "I'd hoped she was right." Bellua knew she looked terrified as Black continued calmly. "So now I feel like I ought to say something. Uh, let's see...oh, yes, well, Snape, it's time for you to decide where you stand. With the winners..." She gestured to herself and the hulking Avery behind her. "...or with the Mudbloods." She smirked.

Bellua growled back, still not over her anger, "Still not a Mudblood, Trixie."

Black's own cool expression twisted into a cruel sneer. "And you know what? You're right. I believe you. But don't you fill me up with you 'I'm a pureblood' lies-"

"Ask a teacher. They'll tell you."

Bellatrix cackled. "You think that means you're getting away? You're in our dungeon, honey. You play by our rules."

Bellua rolled her eyes. "Everywhere else goes by your rules too, it seems. And I thought all was fair in love and war"

"Oh really? Then you're okay with being outnumbered, good." Black jerked her head. "Get over here, Snape."

"I..." he stopped, then looked at Bellua, then back at Black. Working his jaw, he finally stepped towards Black, but did not withdraw his wand or face the Gryffindor. "Fine. But we should leave before Filch catches us."

The sweetness in the Slytherin's smile made Bellua sick. "Filch, the nasty Squib? I'll take care of him, too! Until then, we're not leaving. You and Avery and I are going to have some fun." Her wand was out, and she yelled, "_Cruci-"_

"_STUPEFY!" _Two people roared, the spells powerful enough to blast both Black and Avery out of the doorway and into the room, knocking over chairs as they collapsed. Remus and Sirius burst into the room along with Filch, Remus the two Marauders pointing their wands at Snape. Sirius's face was alight with fury as he growled, "You little cockroach. _Levi-_"

"No!" Bellua yelled. "He didn't do anything!" She looked over at Filch. "Sirius, he's fine, really, he stood up for me – in a way. Bellatrix, on the other hand..." The greedy look in Filch's eye made it all too obvious how often he'd hoped to expel someone as rule-breaking as the dark-eyed Slytherin. "Remus, Sirius, thank you for coming."

"I'm not finished with this little weasel," Sirius growled, his wand point pressing against Severus's pale cheek. "Give me a reason. I _beg _you."

He lifted his chin defiantly and replied, "Why, all of a sudden, does the high and mighty Sirius Black need a reason to inflict pain?"

"My point exactly," Sirius replied darkly, grinning. "You're lucky Remus and Bell are here, Snivellus. I'll let you go with a warning." And he pulled back his wand, allowing Severus to back away and leave immediately, Filch not far behind him.

The three glanced at each other. "Thank you." She smiled. "That could've gotten nasty."

"It got _nasty _when she walked into the room." Sirius's face screwed up with disgust as he glared down at Bellatrix's unconscious form.

Remus smiled weakly. "I'm just glad we came the moment we did." His face was bright with concern as he looked at Bellua. "Were you hurt in any way?"

"Oh, no, no. You arrived just in time actually." She smiled, then sighed and flung herself into his arms, hugging his tightly. Sirius laughed and announced grandly that he was turning around, and as he did they kissed gently, only for a moment as she whispered, _"_I have something to show you." And pointed to the bubbling potion. However, before she could explain, Professor McGonagall and Horace Slughorn arrived shortly after they broke apart.

"Black, Lupin, Dimid, what is going on here?" Slughorn snapped, looking anxious. Clearly having two of his older students lying on the ground moaning was not a happy sight for him.

"You see, Professor-" Suddenly Bellua gasped aloud and grabbed her head. Images flashed in her mind, clogging her vision as her parents Apparated nearby and pinned her down, her father whispering gently,

"_Oh my, my, my. It seems we've found you again. How...fortunate." He smirked at her terrified expression. "We'll make this lesson brief, as all your professors can see is you writhing on the ground in agony, as we are, unfortunately, not really here. But just you wait. You can run all you want, my dear. But do not think for a moment that you can hide."_

_And he punched her once, across the face, before she snapped back into reality and fell unconscious._

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

**Oh dear.  
****That's my longest chapter yet! :D  
****I have nothing else to say...R&R for Chapter 11.**


	11. Chapter 11 - I Labeled It For No Reason

**Another chapter come and gone in as many weeks. Hopefully I'm developing a pattern here, but I'm spontaneous so probably not.  
I LABELED THIS CHAPTER...for no reason whatsoever.  
Oh and thanks you to everyone who reviewed! GinnyMercury, Bridge on Fire, Alleycatz and Invisi! Oh and Invisi, I am evil so it's okay to say so *evil grin*.  
This one feels a liddle different...I don't know, it just ****_does._**** So read it now!**

**~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~**

Word traveled quickly through the halls of Hogwarts, especially when the unofficial 'rulers' of the halls were involved. When the Slytherin Terror Bellatrix Black was expelled, it was uproar. Of course, this conversation led to the thought of the strange Dimid girl. Of course she'd been marked as different ever since she'd arrived at fifth year instead of first, but had been dismissed as a transfer student, and that had been the end of it. But recently she'd suddenly become well-known - topping classes, befriending the infamous Marauders and crushing Laurent Mulciber in the Dueling Club. Not only that but apparently now she was dating Remus Lupin, and had moved to the hospital wing for overnights. The pressure was high and Bellua could feel all of it pushing down on her thin shoulders. She'd always felt short and skinny, but never so _small._

Ever since she'd been attacked by her parents – yes, _attacked_ – everything seemed to have changed for Bellua. She was taking Occlumency lessons with McGonagall constantly. Every night she read up on Animagi until taking a sleeping draught and falling into a mostly undisturbed sleep in the hospital wing. The Wolfsbane Potion, long gone, had vanished from her mind...if only her partner in it could as well. All her spare time beyond homework was spent concentrating, arguing with herself and practicing Occlumency...basically meaning there was no spare time at all, really. Remus worried constantly and visited frequently. James and Peter fretted and argued and Prongs was, Bellua knew, centimeters away from venting his frustration on Slytherins, and she knew Peter would do nothing to stop him. As for Sirius...he was a different matter entirely.

Twelve days dragged themselves by. The full moon approached and she had not spoken to any Slytherin and few others. She was excused from nearly all her classes to have all that time stuffed full of drinking potions and answering bizarre questions. But Remus always found a way to make up for lost time. His gentle smiles, calm composure and gentle kisses often seemed to be all that kept her going, as otherwise it felt as though she was back a year, meeting no students yet living in the suddenly constricting walls of the castle. Everyone heard of her and Remus said that several rumors had popped up as to why she was being ostracized from most of the students – a dangerous curse, a mental disability, some even suspected that she was pregnant...which of course brought up the truth that Remus and her were, in fact, a declared couple. Again, the majority of the students pounced on the bit of gossip like scavengers over their prey, fighting over the truths and the lies until they were intertwined.

But throughout all of this madness, even more than missing extra time with Remus, she missed her friendships. She missed Severus, despite the bubbling anger against him and her refusal to search for him. Even more than that, she missed Sirius. She only ever saw the curly-haired fifth year by passing him once in the hallways or sitting a good ways away in class, seeming surprisingly attentive to his work whenever she glanced his way. Uncaring of the dramatics of her thoughts, she knew Remus completed her in a way. She wasn't as content, as alive, as..._anything _without him. He just made her better, and she hoped she returned the favor. But Sirius was her guy friend, possibly her _best _friend, and they hadn't spoken in eleven days. It was the pressure, the total helplessness of his situation, she told herself again and again, but a nagging part of her mind told her that Sirius didn't want someone like her around. Some who unwillingly grabbed all the attention and seemed to only bring problems and disaster. Every day between what little classes she had, she searched for the Marauder to no avail. Any time beyond that was set with intense care and Occlumency lessons and time with Remus. Moony told her that Sirius had been acting _off_, and hadn't spoken to either werewolf, making her situation seem all the worse. She felt small, terrified, not even her mind was safe anymore. Her parents could attack anytime, anywhere, even though they hadn't for those dozen days and apparently they'd been threatened and spoken to from their Azkaban home. Had it helped? She didn't know. The Meracuses had left her nightmares, but the horrific dreams still pushed through the sleeping draught now and then. And now that she knew the cause of them, it was clear that the hold on her mind had weakened, but not broken.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

She never went in her old tree anymore. The huge, overhanging willow on the far side of Hagrid's hut, however, was clearly quite suitable, as Bellua'd climbed it the last four days for her lunch, each time getting higher. He might have seemed odd, even infatuated, to be keeping track of the Gryffindor's appearances, but ever since Bellatrix Black had been expelled and Dimid hadn't showed up for the Dueling Club on Thursday, he'd decided to find out the truth. Of course, his allegiance with the Death Eaters had meant it would be difficult to talk to her, but he was willing to try. There were no pesky Marauders with her that dreary, cold November day, so that was the day he approached, like a snake his house represented, dark and silent. Brushing his hair from his face, the Slytherin narrowed his eyes and, to his own surprise, did not attract any attention from Hagrid or the fifth-year in the tree. Eyes narrowed, he debated over what to do before finally choosing to call up. "I didn't see you at breakfast today."

She froze, then looked down and said irritably with her hair in her face, "What do you want, Snape?"

He refused to break eye contact. "Can I sit here?"

"Don't you pull the _déjà vu _card on me." Then she stopped, exhaled and said, "And for God's sake you know it's not my tree."

Severus didn't smile, just nodded a thank you as he sat under it and opened the copy of _Advanced Potion-Making. _Of course certain elements of Slughorn's analogies had been wrong, or at least were the source of more work, so he sat about correcting them by scribbling out lines and replacing them in his convoluted, tight handwriting. Then finally, after a good pause, he called, "Can you come down?"

She looked at him, eyes narrowed, and asked, "Why?"

"I want to talk to you."

"Well, I don't want to talk to _you._" She retorted, turning away best she could.

"I can't just call up whenever I want to say something. You're bloody ten feet up!" He protested.

"Then you should give up and go back to your dungeon." She hissed.

He growled softly, hoping Bellua didn't hear, then made a ridiculous decision. The pessimistic (and likely right) part of him told him what an idiot he was, but beggars couldn't be choosers, could they?

Bellua looked down and, shocked, exclaimed, "What are you doing?!"

"Climbing the tree." He grunted as he pulled himself up to the first branch. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"It looks like you're going to break your arm. Bloody hell, Snape, do you have any idea how to climb?"

"No." He replied through gritted teeth as he lifted himself another foot higher. "But you aren't exactly giving me a choice in the matter, are you?"

"Merlin's Beard," She groaned, then looked back at her book and prayed he'd give up if ignored for long enough. But instead, after much grunting and creaking of branches, Snape appeared to her left. Surprised, as he'd been silent for the last five seconds and she'd thought him much further away, she whipped around to see him shockingly close and jumped backwards, nearly falling from the tree. "God, Snape!" She hissed. "Do you know what'll happen if someone sees us? I have enough bloody rumors on my head and I don't need another one!" And she promptly jumped, grabbing the branch above her and climbed even higher.

"Well, if you'd stop and listen to what I have to say, I'd climb down!" He retorted as he scrambled after her, stomach churning at the height as they reach fifteen, eighteen, twenty feet.

"Stop being such a child! You're going to get yourself killed!" She yelled back as, with astonishing grace, she took advantage of her lightness and practically _scampered _up the next branch. Stubbornness met stubbornness and neither student would relent, although Severus knew neither could climb much higher. Despite Bellua being right at home in the branches, the Slytherin was quickly becoming very, very frightened. Yet he managed to snap, "If you'd get down here I won't!"

"Go away!"

"You're being immature!"

"_You're_ being suicidal! Do you really want to talk to me so badly?"

"Yes!" He gasped for breath as he spoke. She was nearing thirty feet up and crouching on a dangerously wobbling branch, and he was about three feet below her. He knew for a fact that any further would result in the cracking of branches as he tumbled down towards the _very _hard ground that seemed oh-so-very far below him. His stomach clenched and he forced himself to look at the girl above him instead of the ground below. Bellua stared at him, looking stunned at his blatant desperation. Her mouth twitched as though she was about to speak, but instead she simply clenched her jaw and withdrew her wand. _"Wingardium Leviosa," _She muttered, letting herself jump from the branch and drift slowly and, more importantly, _safely _to the ground. About to copy her movements, Severus reached down for his wand, pleased to get out of the uncomfortable position of clinging to the tree. But when his hand slipped into his robe, he only found an empty pocket with a wand-sized hole in the bottom.

_Damn._

"I thought you wanted to talk." She called down impatiently.

"Just give me a minute!" He struggled with the first branch, feeling absolutely nothing below him. Now he felt like his mother's cat, the one that would climb the highest trees and scream at the top of its lungs for help getting down. He felt utterly helpless, with his wand probably twenty feet below him and his movements badly restricted by his thick winter robes and the thick branches.

"Are you stuck?" Her amusement was evident in her tone even from a distance.

"Don't be ridiculous," He snapped. "Do I look like a cat?"

"At the moment?" She trailed off and grinned, not cruelly but certainly in a way that stated she found this hilarious.

"I..." He sagged. _A werewolf helping someone out of a tree. How odd is that? _

She narrowed her eyes, still smirking. "Need some help?"

"Will you give it to me if I ask?"

"I considerably doubt it," She replied, that darn smile not leaving her face. He couldn't be mad with her, though – if he'd been in her position, he'd be grinning even wider.

"Then no, I'm perfectly fine..." He trailed off as he edged his foot out of the clutched of a branch and balanced it on a dangerously bendy one. It groaned against his weight and he winced, expecting it to break. Painstakingly slowly he dragged himself down, until he was ten feet from the ground. He glanced down and was almost surprised to see her still standing there. "You can probably jump from here," She called.

"Are you mad? I'll break my leg!" He insisted, not wanting to show his fear.

"Oh my gosh, Snape, be a man already!" Impatience evident in her tone, she crossed her arms over her chest and added, "I'm leaving for Potions in exactly six minutes whether you're done talking or not."

"Okay, okay, I get-" But before he could finish his sentence the branch supported him snapped cleanly off the tree and he promptly straight down, head first. Instinctively he stuck his hands up to save his skull, but the searing pain that shot through his wrist told him he hadn't gotten away unscathed.

"Oh my God!" She yelled, rushing forward and kneeling next to him. "Your pride's going to get you killed someday, you know that? _Sarciro." _And his wrist, with a hard snap and a cry of pain from him, was mended.

Sighing in relief, he readied himself to say something witty, then frowned and said the first thing that came to mind, "What spell is that?"

"Uh..." She trailed off. "An original one."

"Oh." He didn't question the matter, as he was hardly one to accuse someone of the wrongdoings of creating spells. Instead he looked up, rubbing his still-painful wrist, standing and saying, "Well, that was certainly embarrassing on my part."

"Yes, it was." Her smile fell and she stood after him, saying calmly and coldly. "What do you want?"

He brushed off his robes and hastily, "I asked Slughorn to order me to keep any..._unsavory _information confidential. So I could resist any temptation to use it for my own ends."

She stopped, blinking several times. "That was very...considerate of you."

He shrugged and, forcing himself to seem unflustered and cool, replied, "I suppose so."

"So is that all? Or is there something else you _oh-so_ -desperately needed to tell me?" She raised an eyebrow and brushed her wild hair from her face. "Most in your position wouldn't come within a hundred yards of me."

"I need to know what's going on." He blurted outright. "I don't care if you _go feral_ once a month, as long as it doesn't affect the other twenty-nine days. You're still _vaguely _normal, aren't you?"

"Vaguely normal. Gee, thanks." She said dryly, making him curse his tactlessness. "Maybe _I _don't want to talk to _you, _Snape. Ever think of that?"

"The fact that you almost left me in the tree gave me a hint." He noted, smiling sheepishly. Then his smile dropped and he said hurriedly, "I want to know the truth. What's really been going on, why you aren't attending most classes anymore, why you stay in the hospital wing."

She paused. "Oh. I thought this was about Bellatrix Black."

His face scrunched up as though he'd inhaled an especially loathsome scent. "Why would I have any interest in her?"

"I don't know." She snapped angrily, then reddened and looked at her feet. "Sorry."

He thought for a moment, then said, "You really hated her, didn't you? Bellatrix Black?"

"Yes."

"Are you truly pureblood?"

"The answer is the same every time you ask it – yes."

"I suppose you had your name changed, then. A week ago Mucliber, Crabbe and Black were talking about pureblood families beyond the Slytherin house. They never mentioned the Dimid line."

"I did have my name changed." She bit her lip again.

"I see." He paused and asked, "Because of your...condition?"

"People like me are as bad as Muggle-borns to supremacists." She sniffed. "That's why I'm surprised you came at all."

"But what if I don't care about your...condition?" He insisted.

"Then you're not a Death Eater." She replied coolly.

"I didn't say tha-" He stopped closed his eyes, and exhaled. "Okay, yeah, I did say it. But that doesn't mean I am." He paused and added, "But will you tell me?"

She looked at him evenly, looking as though she would either burst into tears or hit him. But instead she shook her head violently and turned around, grabbing her bag and walking towards the castle. "You want me to trust you again?"

"Yes." He was almost begging but didn't care.

"Fine then. If you're so sworn to keep secrets..." She paused, then turned around and ran away. Severus was about to call after her when she began to change, black fur sprouting from every inch of her skin as her clothes molded with her body and her bones reformed to make a lean feline form in her place. Her running became faster, majestic even, as the shadow-like creature ran out of sight.

"Animagus," Severus whispered. It was another several moments before he shook his head clear of thoughts and ran back to school, knowing that Bellua trusted him again.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

Remus stared, stunned, at the black panther before him. Its bright yellow eyes seemed to be smiling at him and held none of their former blue shades. The sleek, shining ebony fur was discontinued by scars, but not enough to deeply detract from its beauty. It was small for its species and the fur was a little overgrown, which only made sense when the caster was brought into mind. The werewolf could easily imagine Bellua there instead, fiddling with her hands at the same pace as the feline's tail twitched anxiously. He couldn't help it – he grinned widely and said, "Count me impressed."

She purred in appreciation before slowly shifting back. "It's not perfect," Her voice sounded hoarse, as though her tongue hadn't completely changed back. "But it's a start, right?"

"You..." He hesitated. "You don't think _I_ could, could I?"

She blinked and said as though it was obvious, "Of course you could, Remus. You're far better at this breaking-rules stuff than me." She grinned impishly. "It's kind of fun, really. Breaking the rules and all, y'know? You get an adrenaline rush..." She almost giggled, then her smile dropped and she asked, "Has Sirius been speaking to you?"

"You asked me yesterday, and the answer is...still no." He sighed deeply and added, "And James said he isn't sure what's up either. Padfoot's acting...odd. I don't know. I just hope he's better by next week."

"Full moon?"

"Yeah." He grimaced. "And beyond that, _everyone _is talking to me, whether they're asking if you and I are...you know, a _couple, _or what's wrong with you. They noticed when you didn't attend Dueling Club. You've become a hot topic, that's for sure."

"I barely get to walk in the halls anymore with my demented schedule...it's really that bad?"

"Really that bad." He confirmed, to no joy on either's part. "But that doesn't matter really. How are you doing? Have you been...attacked again?"

"Not since I started taking sleeping draughts." She sighed. "But Madame Pomfrey threatened to Body-Bind me to the bed if I don't stop getting up and reading on Animagi." She smiled sadly. "Everything's...weird. Just weird. Having a friend is just a nice comfort...because it's so _normal._" She hugged him tightly.

"So are we – uh – officially together or something?" He sounded so nervous, she couldn't help but smile. His heartbeat resonated near her ear and she found it comforting.

"Yeah, I guess so." She looked up at him and smiled, and he leaned down for a kiss. They weren't dangerous anymore, these gentle touches and kisses, but the shock of adrenaline was still there and was welcomed eagerly. His arms snaked around her waist, pulling her closer, and he nibbled at her bottom lip.

"Remus, I-"

They sprang apart, and Bellua wanted to swear. _Why are we always getting interrupted? _She thought, but all thought was bashed form her mind when she saw that it had been _Sirius_ who had interrupted them.

"Sirius!" She yelped in surprise.

His eyes were narrowed, jaw clenched as he said softly, "It seems like I'm interrupting something." And he turned around, about to leave.

"No! Sirius, wait!" Remus called, but Sirius had already leapt down the stairs and stormed out.

"What is his problem?" She growled. "Has he ever thought that maybe I _like _talking to him?"

"James suggested he might be miffed that we're dating." Remus commented quietly.

Frowning, she turned and said, "What?"

"Well, ever since we started going out, I've spent more time with you, which means less time with my mates, and not only that but now you can pull of the Marauder's fifth-year Animagus thing. He does like you, he might just be...frustrated. It doesn't help that now you're incapacitated and there's absolutely nothing he can do about it. Sirius is an outright guy...that's why this whole this is so abnormal."

"I think the whole normal thing's gone down the drain by now." She grimaced, "Along with the Wolfsbane Potion."

"The Wolfsbane Potion?" He echoed. "You threw it out?"

"Well, I couldn't finish it without Snape anyway, and we're barely on neutral terms right now." She sighed and rubbed her head. "I'm sorry to drag you into all this, Remus. I really am."

"If I'm helping you be happy, that's good enough for me." He smiled at her, and they kissed again briefly before a warm embrace.

"Full moon is in eleven days." She murmured.

"I'm not going to worry about that for another ten." He replied firmly, tightening the hug. She returned it, smiling into his chest as he planted another small kiss on the top of her head.

"Remus, you're the best." She murmured.

He chanced an, "I know." And Bellua just hugged him tighter.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

_"Ah, love. The things it will drive some men to do."_

_Bellua's eyes snapped open and she knew, immediately, whose voice it was. She was still in bed, not transported to another world like most of her nightmares. It was strange, how Legilimency worked. Strange how all of her Occlumency practices seemed wiped from her memory._

_Silas Meracus raked his gaze over her pajama-clad form, disappointed that she did not turn around to face him. She lay on her side, blanket pulled down to her thighs despite the cold, and her nightclothes composed of fluffy Muggle pajama pants in a startlingly vibrant shade of green, a loose black tee-shirt and mismatched colorful socks. She would not face him, and it irritated him. He would have liked to see the fear in her eyes. But instead of ordering her, he said, "Look around. It is only you and I."_

_Still refusing to meet his cold gaze, she glanced at all the empty beds of the hospital wing, despite a second-year Slytherin being to her left when she'd fallen asleep. "Indeed, you seem to be well guarded. Jocelyn couldn't even reach your mind around all the wards surrounding this hospital wing. And your mental strength is impressive." Silas mused. "Alas, it wasn't good enough."_

_"What does this have to do with the things men will do for love?" Bellua snapped, still not turning around. _

_"It doesn't, really. However, it certainly was a dramatic way to wake you up." The mattress pressed down as he sat on the edge of it._

_"You're not real," She mumbled. "Go away now."_

_"Why would I do a thing like that?" He smirked, reaching for her. His fingers brushed her shoulder and she jerked away, standing up and facing him. He stood as well, looking exactly as he always did in all his flawless splendor. It disgusted her. _

_"Because, this is my mind, and you don't have any control here," She growled fists clenched, but the courage in her voice was hollow._

_"Mhmm," He smiled cruelly. "Of course, of course. Then by all means, get rid of me."_

_Her mouth was dry, and she didn't respond. But then his smile dropped and he said quietly, almost gently, "You're scared of me, aren't you?"_

_"Yes, I'm bloody scared of you, because you're bloody insane." She snapped._

_"You don't have to be scared of me." He whispered. "Your mother's not here, Wisteria." She flinched at the use of her old name but he didn't notice or care, continuing relentlessly. "All she lives for is sadism and her own madness. Have you ever thought that maybe I'm not the bad guy?"_

_She stared openly at her father. "Are you mad? You've given me nothing but pain! What about the nightmares-"_

_"And what makes you think they were a team effort?" Silas's tone became more strained, more urgent. "One cell apart is much easier to invade than a school like Hogwarts. Who do you think she tormented first?" He stepped forward, around the bed, and grabbed her shoulders before she could run. His eyes betrayed utter desperation. "Let me teach you Legilimency. Get her out of both our minds. I can only stay for so long. Help me, I'll help you. That's how it works, doesn't it? That's how families work, right?"_

_She gasped and shoved him away, surprised at her own strength. "_Family?!_ You locked me in the goddamn furnace room!" Her voice was surprisingly high and furious. "You honestly think you can just expect to be forgiven?! You really think I'll fall for your lie?! Get out! Now!" And she flung her magic into her words, forcing her mind to barricade itself, like McGonagall taught her, and shoved forward, stunned to see a visible wave of blue light stream from her fingers and shot outwards in a wide cone, wrapping around him and outlining him in a teal glow._

_Silas froze, then smiled weakly. His smile showed no cruelty, no malice. It was a bitter thing that showed just how much he felt like doing anything _but _smiling. Then his perfect appearance began to break. His skin grayed with astonishing speed. Like he had aged twenty years in that split moment, his hair and body withered away, lean muscles fading to nothing, hair bursting from its long, neat ponytail and overgrowing as it grayed from its perfect black-brown shade. Stubble sprouted from his formerly cleanshaven jaw and his robes, once the deepest azure, were slashed apart to reveal filthy striped prison robes. His eyes, once sparkling with such a cruel light, lost all their rich color and glint. The only trait that Bellua could immediately recognize was the weak smile._

_And then he was gone, _and Bellua awoke covered with sweat and tears in her eyes.

The truth hit her...hard.  
Her father was not just begging, he was dying.  
Did she...did she care? Did _he _care? Had the nightmare (literally) of her life...changed? She hugged herself and wished for the questions to go away, desperately willing the haunting feeling to leave. It was like a bomb had been placed over her heart...and any emotion out of place would drop her dead.

**~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~**

**What's wrong with Sirius? Is Silas telling the truth to Bells? Is Severus actually forgiven? Is the Wolfsbane Potion gone for good? Why am I asking you all these dumb questions?  
The answers are: You'll find out soon. You'll find out less soon. You'll find out eventually, gosh. Obviously not, otherwise it wouldn't be in canon. Just for giggles :)**

**See you next week! R&R if you love/hate what you read!**

**~ Koletis**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks you GinnyMercury, Invisi, Bridge on fire and TheEvilPinkCupcake for reviewing my stuffs! Your reviews give me happies :3  
Anyhoo, here it is. Chapter 12, my longest one yet. Read it now.**

**~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~**

She didn't bother to hide her dream. As soon as she woke up she ran straight to Dumbledore and explained every second of it – for not a moment had left her memory. Her wide, dark-rimmed eyes, untamed hair and rushed words only made it obvious how panicked she was. Simply because – and she told the Headmaster this without any hesitation – she had no idea how to respond.

She didn't mention Sirius. She didn't mention Severus. She didn't mention the Black Panther hairs that she'd picked off of her clothes before entering. And she didn't say a word concerning the full moon twelve days away, and her relief neither did Dumbledore. He asked several odd questions but did not push beyond the subject of the dream. Then he gave her a letter for Madame Pomfrey and told her to visit the witch immediately before going back to bed. Somehow he seemed certain that she would not be troubled again...and she wasn't. The rest of her night, after slipping the note under Pomfrey's door and hurrying back to the hospital wing, was silent. And yet as she drifted into unconsciousness she couldn't help but remember Silas's words, and his appearance. Azkaban had stripped everything from him. His reputation, his sanity, his looks...and if he was being truthful, the peace of his mind. He'd lost it just as his wife had...right? Was he lying or not?

She couldn't forget his desperate, dying eyes. She couldn't forget his cry for help despite the overwhelming hatred that welled up whenever his face entered her mind. Then that face would deteriorate like it had in her dream, until it was full of the same fear – no, _terror _– and wretchedness. In the end she didn't know what to follow, her gut instinct or her pity.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

"I don't understand it enough. I mean, is it worth trying to trick me if he can already penetrate my mind? If he is telling the truth, I never saw this coming. If he's lying, it's just another way to hurt me even more and I _still _didn't see it coming." Bellua fiddled with her hands as she looked up at McGonagall. The Professor's office was, as always, comfortably warm and well-lit but not glaring.

"The last time they came..." Minerva mused, "You said your mother was more _obviously _unhinged, while your father was more, ah, subtle."

"That's right."She nodded, biting her lip nervously. "But still insane."

"So if he truly has lost his mind, Silas Meracus is not going to think the way we do. We must completely distance ourselves from our normal thinking, as he does not see through our eyes but the eyes of a sadistic madman. Let me ask you now: Why, in his mind, would deceiving you be the best decision?"

"I..." She frowned deeply, struggling to think. At first she'd felt uncomfortable around her professor, since for the first time since they'd met the fifth year was keeping a secret from the older, godmother-like woman. But she could keep her Animagus form unknown. For now.

But what of the current problem? She wracked her brain, desperately wishing for Remus, or Sirius or Severus. They always had bright ideas, Remus's wildly clever and thought through, Sirius's daring and always successful (in some form) despite the staggering odds, and Severus's viciously cunning and fail-proof. Compared to them, Bellua felt oddly normal. Strange, for a werewolf-witch to feel anything encircling the term _normal, _but at that very moment her mind was utterly blank and she dearly wished Remus had been allowed in or Sirius had started talking to her. The silence from Padfoot was depressing. Like an extra pound of pressure pressing down on her shoulders…Like she didn't have enough problems already.

_Focus, Bells. You have a vengeance-seeking mental case to worry about first._ She shook her head slightly as if that would chase away the thoughts plaguing her mind and focused. _Why _would her father see an advantage in gaining her trust instead of just pounding the crap out of her? In any way, that night had been a relief, as there was no waking up screaming or icy fear trailing down her spine as she jolted awake. There was not, as far as she could see, any immediate benefit. He could've inflicted plenty of pain to his black heart's content before she'd managed to concentrate enough to get him out of her mind.

But he hadn't. Somehow, someway, he thought he could get at her better by fooling her.

Or did he?

"Professor," She scowled. "If it's pain he wants, the way he's getting around to it makes no sense. If he wanted to hurt me, he could've – and easily."

"So why didn't he?" She asked, making Bellua think harder.

"Because I wouldn't listen to him if he had." She murmured.

McGonagall looked down at their teacups, lost in thought. "This is indeed a strange course of action, one none of us could have anticipated – not even Professor Dumbledore." She sighed and said softly, "We are refraining from confronting the Meracuses directly; we do not want to stir up trouble with the Ministry just yet."

"Do you think the Meracuses will be able to get any deeper in my head?" Bellua bit her lip as she thought. "I mean, further invading my mind and learning secrets and things." She almost winced openly at the thought.

"I...I cannot be certain. If he did teach you, he would learn your mind almost as well as I have through teaching you Occlumency. Each mind is different, you see. No two can be read the same way. It is astounding that they possess the strength to push through our boundaries, and I dearly hope that he cannot reach further." She leaned forward and said very softly, as if fearing eavesdroppers, "Will you promise me that you will tell us everything that happens between you and him? This could be a question of not just your safety, but your sanity." The graveness of her tone made the entire room seem deathly still after she'd finished speaking. But Bellua didn't hesitate and nodded immediately. At this, McGonagall relaxed slightly and said, "I've kept you here long enough. Your Occlumency class will be during second period after charms, understood?"

"Yes, Professor."

"And Madame Pomfrey, the Headmaster and I have discussed it, and believe you can go back to living with the other Gryffindors. You've been practically ostracized and returning to normal may help matters."

"Really?" Her eyes widened and she grinned. "Thank you, Professor. Thank you so much." She stood, about to leave, when McGonagall said,

"And Bellua, please don't hesitate from speaking with me. I am always available to you." Real concern danced in her eyes and her face, usually calm and stern, was wrought with worry.

Bellua smiled back at her. "I won't, Professor. Oh, and can I...can I tell anyone about all this?"

"Well, I'm sure Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black will get the information out one way or another." She smiled gently and said, "Be safe, Bellua."

"Thank you, Professor." The thought of Sirius's stony silence made her smile hollow. Forcing her face to remain calm, she stepped out of the office-

Right into Severus Snape's path.

"Gah!" She yelled in surprised as he struggled to skid to a halt and ended up colliding head-on with the smaller girl. She landed hard on her back and the only reason Severus didn't crush her underneath him was because he slammed his hands down on either side of her head, suspending him over her. They stared at each other for several moments. Bellua was uncomfortably aware of how close they were. Then he reddened and rolled off of her, standing and grabbing everything he'd dropped with a wand-flick. He inhaled, hesitated and eventually he said, "Uh, hello."

"Hi." She managed after scrambling to her feet, "Um, sorry about that."

"It's no problem." He said hurriedly. "Sorry for running into you."

"It's fine, you didn't squish me." She smiled weakly and asked, "Has James been bothering you?"

"No, why?" He replied a little quickly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." He frowned. "Of course I am."

"Why were you running?"

"What?"

"You _ran _into me. Said so yourself. And judging by the smell of a leaking Dungbomb and green gas coming from your bag, you're either hiding from Filch or about to perform a prank." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not gonna turn you in."

"I, uh, make Dungbombs occasionally."

"_Make _them?"

"Yeah. For the other Death Eaters."

Her face fell slightly but surely not enough to reveal her complete disappointment. "Ah."

"Why are you disappointed?" He arched an eyebrow.

_Okay, maybe he did notice. _"I dunno. The idea of you becoming a prankster somehow appeals to me."

He snorted, amused. "Why on earth would that appeal to you?"

"Because you've got more spells, potions and brains than either Crabbe or Goyle, and they seem pretty successful at ruining their enemies' days. A whole stash of Dungbombs, enchanted with an Invisibility Charm and each setting off some sort of minor curse in its range would be pretty darn impressive."

"I do have some of those." He couldn't help but grin. Then he thought of hulking Mulciber, and just-as-menacing Crabbe and Goyle. "But I promised these ones to Mulciber."

"Don't you think it's odd you call your friend by his last name?"

"No. They call me Snape, don't they?" He insisted.

"Well then that probably means he doesn't see _you _as _his _friend." She deadpanned. "And in that case you might as well start calling me Dimid from now on, shouldn't you?"

He made a face. "That's stretching it a bit Bellua, don't you think?"

"No, actually, I _don't._" She growled. "Don't you see what these people are like? They're like they're own little army – no, like a hive or hornets. There's Queen-Bee-Black and her top goons Avery and Mulciber that followed her everywhere and followed her every whim, and then there are the other dominant males Crabbe and Goyle and all those four do is swoon over the queen, keep everyone else away from her and sting anything that isn't part of the swarm. And then there's you, and Regulus Black, and Barty Crouch Jr., the bees that die in less than a month and don't matter to the Queen Bee. They just get trampled over by the others because they are, in the eyes of the leaders, _expendable._"

Severus's mouth twitched and he asked, "And what are your Marauders like, hm?"

Bellua bit her lip and chose to say, "A pack of wolves. They're tightly banded together, can't really be controlled and lash out at anyone that threatens one of the pack."

"More like coyotes," The Slytherin grumbled, "Because they make a hell of a lot of noise and gang up on things littler than they are."

Her face remained placid. "Good point."

He fiddled with his wand, allowing the silence to drag for another few seconds. Then he smirked and said, "So," watching her expression carefully, "Black Panther, huh?"

She raised her eyebrows questioningly, then blushed slightly and said, "Yeah. Was waiting for you to bring that up."

"According to Muggle myths and Animagus guidelines they represent dark energy, rebirth and feminine power." He said softly.

She blinked, appearing interested. Cracking a grin, she said, "I thought it was just because I climb trees, am smaller than everyone else and like to hide and sneak around at night." After a pause, she added, "And why were you reading Animagus books?"

"Just curiosity. It's not a talent I _want _to pursue. I just like to know things." He said simply. "And...I was wondering...if you would tell me what's been going on."

She scowled. "Why should I?"

"I trust you with this, don't I?" At _this, _he gestured to the lump in his bag, which had stopped emitting greenish smoke and smelled all-around horrible. "There's no reason I _would _spill, so I won't. Make sense?" When she hesitated, he added, "If I was going to spill on the Marauders, I would've done it by now."

"I s'pose..." She rubbed the back of her head. "But I gotta go soon, okay? In two minutes this hall is going to be full of people headed to the Great Hall."

"So you'd better hurry, then."

"Yeah." She rubbed the back of her head before saying softly, "I've been having nightmares."

He blinked. "So?"

"_So _the nightmares are...being caused by an outside force." She rushed the last words as if afraid otherwise she'd chicken out of saying them.

Severus stared. "Like through Legilimency?"

"Exactly."

"I...didn't know you had enemies."

"I'm a lycanthrope, Severus." She smiled sourly. "Wherever I go I'll find someone that hates me. It's kind of an unmentioned side-effect of my condition."

"Even Hogwarts," He mused.

"Even Hogwarts," She repeated. "But the point is that I'm not suffering any serious harm, but their motives are questionable and it is very likely that these people want to drive me insane."

He paled. "I...see."

"So yes, I'm a tad worried." She licked her lips, then said as if they'd discussed something as simple as the weather, "So how are you?"

He blinked as her casualness and said with a hint of confusion, "Okay, I suppose. I've finally averaged my Potions mark to where I want it to be and am confident I can get the OWL I want."

"Outstanding?" She guessed.

"Yes." He smirked, and she smiled back just as the roar of hundreds of footsteps sounded behind them. Looking past the Slytherin she saw the morning horde of students chatting calmly and doing whatever else. Noticing her wandering gaze, he said quickly, "We'd better start walking. No need to be trampled by seventh-year Hufflepuffs."

"Agreed." And they started walking towards the Great Hall along with the masses. However, Bellua could still feel the stares burning into the back of her and Severus's heads. Eyes narrowed, she walked a little faster, the lanky Slytherin right beside her.

"We're being stared at," She said softly under her breath.

In response he snorted and said, "Why should I care? Let them."

"Are you sure you're okay with it?" Worry edged her tone.

He rolled his eyes. Gryffindors seemed so bipolar – either ridiculously brash and 'heroic' or always worrying and worrying. "Of course I am. Aren't I already unpopular enough?" With a dry, lopsided smile, he nodded a goodbye and turned towards the Slytherin table, leaving Bellua to sit at the usual Marauders' place. Briefly she wondered, as this was her first time eating breakfast with the normal school in almost two weeks, if Sirius still sat here. _I'll find out soon, _she mused, not quite looking forward to it.

_There's Peter. _The roundish boy waved calmly to her before sitting opposite and saying, "Morning, Bellua."

"Hey, Peter." She smiled at him slightly. "What's up with you?"

"Not much. Worrying mostly, about OWLs and Quidditch and _you_." He admitted. "James has been doing a lot of practice since the game is coming up so I haven't spoken with him much."

"Still want to become the commenter for Quidditch?" She asked.

"Of course I do, but I need to drink a lot of water, see, and I guess some Death Eaters found out because there was something in my drink last practice that, uh, didn't agree with me." He reddened. "I'm taking the day off so I'll be all set for tomorrow's game."

She bit her lip to keep herself from giggling before saying, "That's, uh, understandable." Reaching for a stack of sausages in the silver platter between them, she asked Peter, "What about Sirius? I haven't, uh, talked to him for a while."

"Well, actually, I was hoping you knew." He rubbed the back of his head as he spoke, clearly wanting to discuss this with her. "He only ever talks to James now and even then not often without one of them getting real pissed off. He's being really moody and quiet and hasn't pulled any pranks recently. Prongs told me he gets really mad whenever he's asked to come pranking. It's...odd."

"It's not like he'd regret it." She made a face. "Most of it's just harmless fun and he knows it. I wonder what- Oh, hi Remus." She smiled at the other werewolf as he sat next to her.

"Hi Peter. Hi, Bells." He hugged her around the shoulders and Peter nodded to him.

"Moony," He asked. "Have you, uh, talked to Sirius at all?"

"Not recently, no." His face immediately darkened although his tone was still casual. "Have you?"

"Wish I had." Peter looked down at his scrambled eggs and said softly, "You don't s'pose there was news from home, do you? I mean, I know he's not a fan of his parents, but if one of them had passed on and he'd never gotten to say goodbye..." He trailed off. From what Bellua knew, Peter was very close with his father and losing the one parent he had left would be a serious blow on the fifth-year.

"I doubt it. They've got the best healthcare in the wizarding community and probably wouldn't be too concerned about going to the Dark Arts for..."

He trailed off as James stepped into view, plopped down beside Peter and reached for his food silently, forehead twitching in a vain attempt to hide the anger etched across his features.

"Uh, hi James." Bellua chanced, earning herself a venomous glare.

"Hi." He grumbled.

"Did you hear it's supposed to snow tomorrow?" She smiled weakly.

"Snow. Great, just makes the Quidditch game harder." Barely giving her another glance, he bit into his toast and did not even greet his friends.

"What's with you, Prongs?" Peter nudged him.

"Sirius." James slammed his food down and rubbed his face with his hands. "I've been trying to talk to him and it's like he's decided the whole world hates him. I _mentioned _Dungbombing the Slytherin common room and he practically exploded, going into a huge tirade about WHY we couldn't find anything better to do and we were reduced to such petty forms of entertainment and how I wasn't going to 'pull of three OWLS if I kept wasting my time with this crap. Might as well go back to bullying Snivellus if you want to ruin your future so bad'." He imitated Sirius's voice to near perfection, then inhaled deeply and said in a forcibly calm tone, "So, what's up with you guys?"

"Uh, well, Lily told me McGonagall's going to be grading our homework like she would grade OWLs." Remus said softly.

"I'm going to be the commenter at today's match." Peter smiled.

"I got an Animagus form." Bellua said, making Peter and James spit out their food.

Once he'd gotten control over his breathing, James gasped, "What?!"

"Keep it down, would you? D'you want the whole school to know" Remus hissed. "And yes, she's an Animagus hands down, I saw it myself."

"Really? I mean, _really? _Oh God...Oh wow, that's, that's _awesome._" For the first time, James grinned. "That makes you an official Marauder now." He paused suddenly and, after realizing what he'd said, his expression soured. "Especially since we're one short...Apparently Sirius doesn't want to be anymore."

"D'you think it's more than OWL pressure?" Bellua frowned slightly, biting into another sausage.

"The OWLS are months away. He didn't worry about last year's exams until the day before."

"A mood swing? Does he get real sullen after losing some sort of competition? I heard Avery beat him at the Dueling Club meeting." _The one I missed for an Occlumency lesson, _she thought with some remorse.

"If anything, that'd just make him even more eager to get revenge."

"Think he's got a secret? Dating a Slytherin, maybe?" She knew it was incredibly unlikely, but still.

"Oh God, no. He'd rather chew broken glass." Remus said immediately.

"Then what is it?"

"No idea." James grumbled. "The worst part is that whatever it is, he doesn't trust us with it, his best friends."

"Then it's probably something that has to dowith one of _us._" Peter noted quietly.

James looked over at him in surprise, "See, Wormtail? You do have a brain under all that hair; you just gotta use it more." Jokingly he tried to give the other boy a noogie only to be fended off with a fork and a glare.

"Seriously though, that's a good point Peter." Remus pointed out, smiling hopefully. "And if it is...then recruiting Bell could make him want to join in and tell us what's miffing him. Because obviously whatever it is keeps him from pranking and perhaps having someone fill his shoes could...I dunno, egg him on? I know it's kind of underhand but it's been two bloody weeks."

"I'm...I'm not much of a prankster." Bellua said carefully. "I don't even know what you guys do."

"We order Dungbombs but otherwise make most of our stuff. You'd probably be great at that." Remus smiled, one arm snaking around her waist and pulling her closer to him.

Bellua, who didn't mind this at all, scooted a little closer to him and asked James, "Were you planning on doing anything anytime soon?"

"Well, yeah." The dark-haired boy frowned. "Why, you want in?"

"Well, I'm a Marauder, aren't I? I have to maraud _something._" She grinned somewhat evilly, a bright glint in her eyes. "And being an Animagus made me realize that breaking the rules is, well, _fun._"

"It is!" James grinned. "And if you are _in, _Bell, then we have some serious plotting to do. If someone invisible pokes you sometime tomorrow after the Quidditch match, it's just me and my Cloak. Then we'll do some serious marauding. It'll be like your initiation into the ranks of mischief-makers." He spoke the last words with much grandeur.

"That sounds barely thought through and ridiculously daring." She smirked. "I like it."

"See you in the future then, Marauders and Marauder-to-be." And with a mock salute, he walked away with such superiority in his stride he could be mistaken for a Muggle King.

"He's almost as mood-swingy as Sirius." Peter joked. "He looks like he just won a thousand Galleons with that look on his face." His grin widened. "Can't wait for tomorrow. Quidditch and possibly the 'Prank of the Month'. And I thought the toilet explosion was a good one."

"I'm a Prefect." Remus announced.

"So...you'll just happen to sleep really heavily tomorrow?" Bellua guessed with an arched eyebrow.

"Uh...yeah." He tried to frown but it ended up more like a smirk. "As long as you promise not to kill anyone, I'll just sleep _really _soundly. But don't expect this all time, okay? I have to follow the rules sometimes."

"Thanks. You're awesome, you know." She kissed her boyfriend on the cheek and Peter looked away. Upon seeing this, she grinned and said, "Oh come on, Pete, it's not like you haven't been seen snogging Rebecca Nyx loads of times."

"I...Yeah, I know." He sighed. Bell and Remus laughed, but both fifth-years had their minds elsewhere.

_Initiation prank, huh? Wonder who we'll be blowing up? _Bell mused.

_Merlin's Beard, this could either end up being bloody brilliant or in an expulsion, _Remus fretted.

_Of course it'll be a Slytherin. Hopefully not Severus...but the other Death Eaters are fair game, _Bellua knew.

_It'll be against Avery, no doubt about it since he beat Sirius at the last Dueling Club meeting. Then again, if Hufflepuff crushes us at Quidditch like they did Ravenclaw, Wormtail and Prongs might have vengeance in mind..._Remus thought.

_As long as we don't get hurt, it'll be fine._

_As long as Bellua doesn't get hurt, it'll be fine._

Giving each other a glance without knowing their identical thoughts as the werewolves gathered their things and headed for the Charms classroom, Bellua found herself more excited than she'd been for weeks. _Maybe I am a good prankster. We'll find out soon, won't we?_

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

They'd lost. Two hundred to seventy. Not a dreadful defeat, but certainly not a good time to be around any Gryffindors. However, Bellua was happy, for she's slept in her own bed last night and not had a single nightmare. Even so, she knew the majority of Gryffindors would not be in the mood for much of anything besides moping. So when she sat in the common room for the second time in a long while, throat raw from screaming and cheering and wild hair even frizzier from the strong winds, she did not expect to feel a light tap on her shoulder and the whisper, "Your initiation ceremony begins now." Jumping and whipping around to see no one there, she relaxed slightly and smiled.

"James, there's no one else here." She whispered.

"Then why are you whispering?"

She could imagine his grin perfectly as she replied, "Because I'm freaked out. Great job today, by the way. What was it, four goals?"

"Three but two other were thanks to _my _passes." He pulled the cloak back to reveal his carefully untamed hair, his eyes bright behind his glasses. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"In you come, then." And he gestured for her to join him under the cloak. She hesitated for only a moment and ducked underneath, happy there was enough of the fabric to keep the tight situation from becoming awkward.

"To the fifth-year boys' dorm. Also known as our lair or sorts." James said happily as they stepped through the door and met the messiness of the Marauders' room. Sirius and Remus were nowhere to be seen but Peter looked excited as ever.

"So." James said once the cloak was pulled off and tossed onto his unmade bed. "Objective: Pull off an epic prank that won't wear off for days and will make Sirius realize how much he's missing out. Target: One ugly Avery and whoever is unlucky enough to be with him at the time. Thus making Sirius even _more _jealous. Date: Uh...what day is it?"

"November seventeenth." Peter chirped.

"Right. Evil plot." He looked expectantly at Bellua. "Got any ideas?"

"Heaps, but I want to hear yours first." She said, fidgeting with excitement. Why was this so exhilarating? She was going to make her enmity clear as day with these people. She was breaking rules. But the thought of getting back at those bullies and risking losing points...it pumped adrenaline through her system and it felt like the full moon was approaching twice as fast. It felt, to put it simply, _dangerous. _Not only that, but _addictive._

"Well," Peter said carefully. "Are we playing it safe or not? I mean, if we only want to make them scream like first-years all we'd need to do is feed James's Grizzlebee a Muggle energy drink and throw it in their room. It'll go psycho in there and there are so many Grizzlebees and Fanged Frisbees in the school that we'd never get caught."

"And if we want to crank it up a little?"

"Then we toss in some fireworks that give of Dungbomb smoke." Peter said.

"And even more than that?"

"_Phobocorpa _could work, but we wouldn't have time to get out before someone heard them screaming." Bellua mused.

"_Phobocorpa_?" Peter frowned. "Is that a kind of fish?"

"No. It's the Boggart Curse. Pretty much gives you the same effect as a Boggart, taking on the shape of a subject's deepest fear and all that. It's risky though, I've only tried it once or twice and the effects take a while to wear off and kind of burns your skin..." She blushed

"Whoa, whoa, wait." James stared at her. "Did you _invent _it?"

"Yeah." She said simply. "Severus Snape invented _Levicorpus, _why can't I make up things as well? Granted, I'm not very good with curses so the Boggart Curse is unstable..."

"But a good last resort. You're better at this than I thought." James grinned at her and she smiled back. "But since you seem cool with that, I think we can do something _real _creepy. Something that'll last for a long time. Something that's a warning to NEVER mess with us." He grinned. "And now that you mention homemade curses, do you have any more Bells? I'm going to go get some glitter."

"Do I want to know why you have a stash of glitter?" She wondered aloud.

"It's useful in the weirdest times...for example, right now. Get the fireworks, too. We have some inventing to do."

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

"Well," She whispered. "Here goes nothing."

She didn't know how James had gotten the passwords or how he knew the dungeon so well. All she knew was that there was a snoring Avery right in front of her and she only had a few seconds to cast the spell before Peter set the fuses. Narrowing her eyes, she brandished her wand like a sword and said softly, _"Glutinossi,"_ A pale orange glow emanated from her wand and washed over the sleeping Death Eater just as Peter set the two timers.

"Okay. Back up, in the doorway, get ready to run." James ordered in a harsh whisper as they backed up until they were in the common room, prepared to bolt.

"What if the Adhering Jinx didn't work?" Bellua hissed under her breath, deathly nervous despite being under the Invisibility Cloak.

"Of course it did. Now I know why you can always get your Herbology plants to stay still. By tomorrow, Avery will be so covered in glitter he'll look like ome sort of pixie."

"But what if we get separated in the dungeons?" She worried.

He paused. "Uh..."

_BOOM._  
Two crackling explosions sounded as fireworks shot around the common room, pouring glitter behind them like smoke and illuminating the darkness in stark colors of periwinkle blue, ridiculously fluorescent pink, and every neon color that was _not _green. The glitter showered down in gold and silver and covered everything, including the shouting kids in the dorm room where the other pack of of sparkle-shooting fireworks had gone off. Swearing was heard as students stumbled from their bedrooms to find their Slytherin common room bathed in sparkling rainbows of light. Every dorm with a male Death Eater had the door wide open and she saw Crabbe, Goyle and Regulus Black stumbling from their rooms, shaking glitter from their hair. Most ridiculous was Avery, who was coated from head to toe in twinkling glitter, most of which was Gryffindor gold.

"Okay." James muttered. "Time to run."

And they did, bolting out the door without considering the sound of their heavy footsteps. Bellua winced as the heavy door slammed behind them. James ripped the Cloak off so they could run faster. With their cover tucked under Prongs's arm, she felt all the more exposed.

"WHERE ARE YOU, POTTER?!" She heard someone roar from behind them.

"Faster," James hissed, swerving around into a hall she hadn't even seen until he ducked into it. Braking clumsily and falling behind due to her short legs and lack of knowledge of the place, Bellua knew that she would soon panic as the yells behind them and the ever-present gloom would get to her.

"This way!" Peter called, and Bellua completely missed the turn. Whipping around, she turned into the corridor...

To find nothing.

Fear set in. She was _sure _they'd gone this way. Sweat trickled down her brow as she ran, non-verbally casting _Lumos _as she ran. Her wand light, however, gave her no comfort as footsteps resonated behind the werewolf and there seemed no end to the hallway. And when she reached the end...there was a fork.

A quiet sob escaped her lips. She hated, hated, _hated _dark tight spaces. "Don't panic, don't panic." She whispered, feeling a tear mix with the sweat. Footsteps sounded behind her and she put out her wand light, plunging into near blackness. The only light was from torches far down, and the approaching wand-lights from behind her.

_Animagus form. Use it. _The logic in her voice demanded, and she obeyed as it seemed to be the only part of her mind that would function. In almost an instant her body shrunk, fur sprouting out across rapidly growing muscles and entire shape changing drastically until she stood less than three feet from the ground.

_Left. Try going left. _The logic spoke again, and once again she followed its orders and sprinted at twice the speed with half the effort. The incredibly night vision of her form guided her as she ran, her paws barely making a breath of sound against the cold stone.

_Keep going until you see a green torch. Take another left. _What was this? For indeed, she did glimpse the emerald light of an ornate torch soon enough, its eerie glow casting odd shadows against the walls. As she passed it, the torches became more frequent until she recognized the path. Shifting back into her human form, she sprinted up the stairs and straight through the door into a well-lit hallway. Relief washed over her as she speed-walked towards the multiple stairways, wincing at every echoing footstep.

_Filch incoming, _the voice warned, and she backpedaled and ducked into the first floor boys' washroom just as the grumpy caretaker ambled past, muttering to himself with Mrs. Norris on his shoulder and looking equally creepy. Once they'd passed, Bellua bolted for the staircase.

_Watch your step; the fifth and twelfth stair will disappear any moment now._

_That staircase passes too many portraits. Take the one behind you; the paintings are less likely to wake up and scream bloody murder._

_Careful not say the password too loudly. Your friends are waiting for you._

What was this? She shoved past the Fat Lady with the hurried 'Blueberry Bowtrunkles' and hurried into the common room only to see James and Peter and almost collide with the latter.

"Merlin's Beard, Bell! We thought you'd been caught!" James gasped, actually hugging her. "Damn, you had us so worried!"

"No. No, I'm..." She paused, considering recent events. "I'm fine."

"That. Was. _Fantastic._" Peter laughed. "You really know how to prank, Bellua!"

"And now," James dug through his pockets until he found his wand. "I dub thee Bells, the Marauder."

"Thank you. Seriously, thanks." She managed. "But I really, really think I need to get to sleep. Right now."

"Are you okay?" Peter asked, clearly worried.

"Of course I am. I just need to go to sleep. Now." And she walked past them both, brushed a spare bit of glitter from her hand and heading right into bed with her clothes still on. It did not take her long to fall asleep, and when she did she knew what she would meet...

_Her eyes snapped open to see the fifth-year girls' dorm room, except the sleeping Claire, Riley and Lily were nowhere to be seen, their beds empty. Eyes narrowed, she stood up, brushed off her clothes and said in a loud, clear voice overflowing with loathing, "Okay, where are you?" _

"_Now, now, is that any way to thank me?" His cool voice behind her did not make her jump but did surprise her, but she did not show it and simply spun on her heel to face him. He looked exactly as he always did, long dark hair tied back and face seeming even paler in contrast with the near-black navy of his robes. There was no usual smile, no glint in his eyes. He looked...tired._

"_So it was you talking to me." Her tone was accusing._

"_Yes."_

"_May I be so bold as to ask why?"_

"_Is it wrong to hope you do not get expelled?" He tilted his head slightly. "Although wandering around in the middle of the night and becoming an unregistered Animagus is certainly risky."_

"_I don't need your advice." She snapped._

"_Oh don't you? After being moved to a less secure place, being exposed to your charming mother? Your master plan is not well thought out, Wisteria."_

"_Don't." Her hands clenched into fists and her jaw clenched so tightly it hurt. "Call me. Wisteria."_

"_But it is your name." He insisted, voice edged with...something she couldn't recognize. "You are my daughter, and I will call you what I wish."_

"_You lost the right to call me _daughter _years ago. Just how blind are you?" She glared furiously at him. "I don't need your help. I don't need you invading my dreams, and I don't need _you._"_

"_Wisteria, please listen-"_

"_DON'T CALL ME WISTERIA!" She screamed, a huge wave of blue light emanating from her clenched fists as her Occlumency threw him backwards. His clothes and face were weathered and torn away and once again, in half a moment, he was reduced to his true form: a dying man in prison uniform. But Bellua did not notice as she screamed, "NEVER. CALL ME DAUGHTER. AGAIN."_

_And she backed away, trembling slightly as the power of rage left her. "Well?" She growled. "What are you waiting for? I didn't fall for your trick. Go ahead. _Crucio _me. I don't care how weak you pretend to be. I'm not strong enough to resist or get you out, so just get my torture over with."_

_Silas pulled himself to his feet with obvious effort and looked her in the eye. "No."_

"_Look, Meracus, it's not going to work!" She almost yelled. "Stop trying to trick me and hurt me already! You want to drive me insane? I'm giving you the opportunity! You're going to do it anyway, so just hurry up before your DARLING wife arrives."_

_He withdrew his wand and threw it to her. It was dark, almost black, with silver filigree in the handle, and it rolled neatly along the bed despite the slight bend in its tip. _

"_I said," he repeated. "No. I don't doubt for a moment I'm not strong enough to even if I wished it. I will not hurt you." _

_She stared at him. Then her jaw clenched again and she said softly, "It's too late for that, isn't it? Get out."_

"_I'm not leaving, Wist-"_

"_For God's sakes, can't you do anything I ask?" She hissed, grabbing her wand and pointing it at him. "Get out or I'll bloody kill you!"_

_He stared at her for one more moment, scraggly hair covering his face and making him look even more wretched. Then he murmured, "I'm not giving up," _

"_The full moon is approaching." She retorted. "You sure you won't get infected by my filth?"_

"_Your filth does not matter to me." He said softly. "I'm shocked you think I could find anything more monstrous than there is in Azkaban. I only need to look to the cell to my left.  
"And daughter," He looked at her carefully, as if afraid her searing gaze would burn through him. "When you want me to tell you what is wrong with Sirius, I will tell. I've known for weeks now."_

_And turned and walked out the door._

Bellua awoke with her wand in her hand and tears in her eyes.

**~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~**

**There you have it. Angst galore, MUCH more incoming.  
COMING SOON: Full moon (Because there really should be one soon) AND we'll finally find out what the heck is wrong with Sirius! Good, because he's barely shown up for 2 chapters and I like writing his dialogue...  
So yeah. R&R, DISCLAIMER, and all that crap.  
See y'all next week!  
~ Koletis**


	13. Chapter 13

**Greetings, Internet! Chapter 13 YAY! I changed my pen name for no reason today.  
Once again I apologize for the wait...hopefully this is a good chapter. I have officially passed 60,000 words!  
And thanks you GinnyMercury, Invisi, Inigo Montaya and luminousnox for reviewing my stuffs!  
And I am MOST pleased to announce that this chapter has a certain Mr. Black in it...well, actually two, but I'm mostly talking about Sirius.  
So without any further ado/spoilers, here is Chapter 13. **

**~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~**

There were always enemies somewhere. That was part of being a ruler – someone would want to steal your crown. And being the self-proclaimed, unquestioned rulers of the halls, the Death Eaters had had foes for years: the Marauders, the Bones family, practically every darned Gryffindor that could get one of the Death Eaters alone. _"Bide your time," _Karkaroff and Malfoy reminded in their constant letters. _"Bide your time and he shall reward you. Don't give anything away. Rule the school until the Dark Lord comes, because he will. Make sure the students know who is _truly _powerful. Find out who our enemies are. Remember them. Hate them. "_

And yes, they'd done that. Narrowly missing expulsion, they'd terrorized Muggle-borns and blood traitors as much as they could along with anyone else who got in their way. They'd bested even the Marauders at times, although Snape couldn't keep his slimy butt out of trouble. With Bellatrix Black in the lead, they achieved nearly whatever they wanted – besides expelling four certain Gryffindors. They'd built up a reputation among the students, and besides a few rebels initiated a sort of 'reign of terror'. They were the rulers, and it was good to be king. Antonin Dolohov realized during this time that being feared was fun. It was a power achieved by few and far too easy to abuse.

And then this Dimid girl had come along and destroyed everything they'd worked for.

No one knew who she was. She claimed to be a pureblood...but the _Dimid_ name wasn't just rare, it was virtually _nonexistent _throughout the wizarding world. Those who'd spent time with Muggles stated that it wasn't a name among them either. Regulus Black had pointed out that it was most likely a created name she took for herself, for one reason or another. Big Crabbe and bigger Goyle stated that wherever she'd been learning for the last four years had paid off, as so far any Death Eater who'd crossed her path had ended up creamed one way or another, save Bellatrix Black. So, being oh-so-clever, Dimid had instead _expelled _the Death Eater queen and proclaimed herself both a mystery and a Marauder. Every Death Eater knew she had assisted in the Glitter Prank, but what could they prove? Nothing. And glitter wasn't usually the Marauders' style – they usually preferred some sort of permanent damage or near loss of limb. The only injury was Avery's self-esteem as he walked to the hospital wing, absolutely _coated _in cheap sequins and sparkles. It'd taken hours to remove them all, as the Adhering Jinx was not only strong but near-unheard of at this point of power. Madam Pomfrey reckoned that the spell was altered by its caster...something Antonin Dolohov didn't doubt as these thoughts worked through his head. And then Dimid had escaped the Slytherin dungeon as if she'd known its twists and turns by heart? The girl had secrets. Secrets and smarts, the worst combination to have in an enemy.

So Antonin Dolohov went to the one person he believed could get the information.

"Hello?" He said, feeling nervousness prickle up his spine as he stepped into the dark fourth-year boys' dormitory. "Hello?" He called again. "Crouch?"

"Oh, look, it's Dolohov." A voice growled, and Dolohov could barely make out the form on the bed. He sat on his bed with his feet tapping a rhythm against the floor, a lean figure with a coldness in his tone that surpassed some of the cruelest seventh-years. When Dolohov flicked on the light, the younger boy licked his lips and said, "Wonder why you're here, hm? I've already told your goons I'm not leaving Slytherin. Just because they think I'm avoiding you Death Eaters doesn't mean they can just waltz in here and curse me."

"They attacked you?" He repeated, honestly surprised that anyone had dared attack the maddest boy in Slytherin.

"They tried." Crouch chuckled softly. "Oh, they tried, yes, but it didn't work, did it? No, course it didn't, look at them now, calling me a scrawny lunatic, but they're not so almighty anymore, are they?" He grinned, almost hysterically, and didn't move from the bed.

_He's insane. Bloody insane, _Dolohov thought with dread, but forced his face to remain cool as he said, "I'm not here to hurt you."

"Then why are you here, eh?" He stood from the bed and whipped around to face Dolohov, straw-colored hair falling in his face as his tongue darted snake-like over his lips. His usually handsome face was bent into a wild grin despite having a black eye and a bleeding lip.

"I need your help, Crouch." The Death Eater spoke as he struggled inwardly not to stare at the ugly, swollen mark covering Crouch's right eye.

"Why should I give it? You won't even use my first name. Cursed, is it? And besides, you and your little club haven't done anything for me, have you? No one does anything for me. Just a freak, that's all I am." His expression was now twisted into an ugly snarl. Yes, it was true, Barty Crouch Jr. was – or at least seemed – slightly unhinged. Dolohov was surprised he'd lasted this long without being expelled. Slughorn was getting soft, it seemed.

"I can pay you back if you help me." The older Slytherin promised.

"Pay? What kind of pay? I don't even know what your oh-so-valiant mission is." Eyes narrowed, Crouch approached him with a suspicious expression on his face. "You're scared of me and you want to recruit me into doing your dirty work? That a wise move, Dolohov?"

"I don't care whether or not it's wise. I just care whether or not the job gets done. Will you listen to me or not?"

Crouch looked down thoughtfully, spinning his wand in his hands. "Fine."

"It's Bellua Dimid."

"Vengeance, I'm assuming."

"Yes-wait, no, it's uh, something else."

He cocked an eyebrow. "I don't know the way to a woman's heart, buddy."

"What?! No, no, no! Nothing like that!" Dolohov sputtered, red in the face. "Are you mad? Of course not."

"No need to snap," Crouch said coolly. "So what _do _you want me to do with her?"

"I need you to find out her heritage, her former school, her parents, her middle name, her favorite color...anything and everything. We need her out of the picture and the only way to do that is know everything we can."

"Oh." The fourth-year replied simply, appearing thoughtful. "Well that's easy. Tedious but easy. Just follow her around, find her enemies, go through the ribcage...er, never mind. And what's the pay?"

"Immunity." Dolohov smiled at the younger boy's surprised expression. "The Death Eaters will leave you be."

"Oh really?" He smirked. "That's quite an offer."

"One you're willing to accept?" The Death Eater asked.

"Oh yes. Yes, yes, this will be _fun._" He grinned. "Now go away. And read today's paper, would you?" Apparently forgetting the other's presence, the boy wandered to the bathroom, still rambling as the door slammed shut behind him.

And Dolohov left with a smile on his face, but curiosity as well. What was so interesting that was in the paper?

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

Siblings. Bloody naïve, idiot siblings. Brainless little _kids _that never realized what they were getting into, wouldn't know help if it slapped them across the face. Thought they knew everything...even when their older brother remembered helping them build up the courage to stand up to 'mean Cousin Cissy' and sleep in bed with the light off. By God, what'd happened to him? What'd happened to Reggie?  
_Bloody siblings. World would be better off without them. _As Sirius's white knuckles clenched around that week's _Prophet_ edition and the letter from his parents, the sound of crunching paper broke the silence of his dorm. It was shortly followed by a yell of rage and Sirius knocking the bed over onto its side with one strong kick. Fury danced in his blue eyes alongside the shine of threatening tears. No, no, he couldn't cry. God's sake, he was sixteen. He was Sirius Black, and Blacks weren't supposed to cry. Ever.

But then again, he wasn't really a Black anymore, was he? He couldn't recognize his own brother, or the shocking words etched in green-black ink on the letter stamped with the Black family seal.

They'd told him they approved. His goddamn, twisted parents had read the paper, and...approved. Approved of the headlines: WREATH FAMILY MURDERED BY UNKNOWN DARK WIZARDS. Underneath the bold words was a long list of recent attacks on Muggle-borns – the most recent being last night, when a family of two Muggle-born parents and three children were all slaughtered with the Killing Curse. Every murder was the same way – burn the house down, leave the bodies outside. Gruesome. To the point. And with the Wreath family, words were carved into the ground around the corpses..._Dark Lord Rises, Morsmordre, Purge the Mudbloods, _and the oddest - _Lord Voldemort._

Voldemort. The name sent shivers through him. So the rumors were true, there was a new Dark Lord. Lord Voldemort, and whatever the hell _Morsmordre _was, was determined to eradicate all Muggle-borns.

But the worst part was who approved. His parents. Regulus.

Stupid, stupid little brother Regulus.

_Still my brother, though._

_Still little brother Reggie._

_Little brother Reggie_ who was teaming up with Dark Wizards. And his parents actually agreed with 'what is clearly the work of Dark Wizards and madmen' as the paper quoted. His mother said this 'Voldemort' had the right idea. His father said the Muggle-borns were dangerous, not to be trusted. Eliminating the problem, they wrote into the letter, was the most reasonable option.

What about Reggie? As soon as he'd read the paper, Sirius had waited outside his brother's class and practically assaulted him, dragging the struggling Slytherin into a broom closet and questioning him relentlessly. He'd already known his brother was delving into some dark, dark magicks, but this was out of control! This sicko Voldemort and his minions were killing people, and yet, to the older Black's disgust, Regulus had been strangely...calm about it. He'd seemed almost _proud _of this blatant alliance with Dark Wizards. "The Death Eaters have talked about this for a while," He had spat in his brother's face. "Have you ever thought that maybe _I'm _in the right this time instead of you?"

"These people are murderers!" Sirius had roared. "And you're going to run off and be one of their minions?!"

"Why shouldn't I? It'll make our family proud, Mother's already messaged me and-"

"Oh, ALWAYS siding with Mother, are we now? And as for 'our' family, how long d'you think it'll take Mother to disown me, hm? I've talked to Aunt Andromeda, you know, even though mother barely wanted us knowing she exists! I'm never stepping into that goddamn haunted mansion again!"

"Sirius, don't be daft!" His brother had shouted. "I'm on the winning side!"

Sirius had paused. "You say that like the battle's already started."

Crossing his arms over his chest, Regulus had retorted, "Well, it has, hasn't it? You look just about ready to blast me to smithereens here. Go ahead, _Siri. _Attack me. I'm a Death Eater now. I'm your _enemy_."

Sirius'd stared at him imploringly. "If you really want to get into nicknames...Reggie, _please. _I don't usually beg, but _please _see my side of this! They may be..." He choked over the next word, "_Mudbloods, _but they're still people, aren't they?"

"So are the Death Eaters."

"Yes, but I'm pretty sure the Wreath family didn't wander around the Ministry of Magic, hexing whoever they wanted." Sirius had growled. "Stay with them long enough and you'll realize that if you stick with monsters, you'll become one too."

And he had no intention of speaking to his brother again. Didn't he see the headlines? Didn't he see the pictures of smoldering homes, words burned into the ground before them? Didn't he read the talk of _murder? _God's sake, this Voldemort was...he was doing it right. This 'Lord' knew exactly how to raise fear and paranoia and death count.

"God," He muttered, fists clenching even tighter around the papers. "As if I didn't have enough to worry about."

For there was still the entire issue revolving around his friends...Bellua specifically. She just _couldn't _leave him alone, could she?

With a heavy sigh at what was inevitably going to happen, Sirius dropped the letter from his hand, stuffing it under his pillow. _Now, _he thought with a sour smile. _How on earth to say hello to someone I've avoided for weeks._

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

It was cold out so Bellua sat in the library over lunch. Even so, watching the snow whip at the windows nearly made her shiver – it may have been a clue from the way she covered up, but Bellua did not like the cold.

Absentmindedly her hand rubbed at her lips, which were still redder and fuller from kissing Remus several moments ago. Not that she regretted it...although maybe she had enjoyed it _too _much, the werewolf mused as her mind flashed back to feeling Remus's strong, warm chest and tangling her hands in his hair. But then again, the full moon was tonight, and her emotions were, as usual, in overdrive? In four hours she'd be skipping Potions (to her dismay) and going straight to the crypt. As the days grew shorter, the monster's reign only increased. Indeed, Bellua was probably the only girl in Hogwarts who absolutely _hated _the holidays.

As she walked down the aisle, looking for the correct thickly-bound Transfiguration book, her mind wandered over things beyond the spines of the books. Another week had passed without speaking to her parents or Sirius. That morning, before snogging happily, Remus had showed her the _Daily Prophet. _Reading it...horrified her. Another family dead, and all of it under not some psycho or hazardous kitchen product, but a purposeful, clearly insane Dark Lord. It wouldn't be long, she knew, before more started dying. People in power.

So lost in thought, she nearly forgot to look where she was going, and promptly turned a corner to collide head-on with a Slytherin. Both students fell to the floor, spilling things everywhere.

"Oh God! I'm sorry, I-" She stopped at meeting the gaze of Barty Crouch Jr. - Slytherin, Death Eater, and unofficially, enemy. Swallowing nervously, she expected a retaliation, only to receive none. The Slytherin, instead of apologizing, sneering, cursing or being insulted by Bellua's wide eyes and obvious shock, just grinned.

"What's wrong, Dimid?" His voice rang with something the werewolf simply couldn't describe. As if Crouch knew something, saw something Bellua couldn't. As if he existed somewhere else. "Scared, are you?"

"No, of course not. You just surprised me, is all." Brushing the hair from her face, she gathered her things hastily. Besides Severus Snape, Crouch was the only Slytherin who seemed willing to get close to her without spitting curses and insults – or just spitting period. After a moment of silence and realizing that Crouch had spilled much more than she and was still stuffing it into his bag, Bellua asked, "Do you want help with that?"

"No, no, I don't need help." His tongue darted over his upper lip as he reached for his wand, which to Bellua's surprise was covered with scratch marks as though the Slytherin had cut into it with a penknife. It had, along with his other miscellaneous things, fallen all over the floor.

"I'm really, really sorry," Bellua managed, but Crouch just waved his hand dismissively.

"Every other Gryffindor does it on purpose, so you're a bit of a relief." He smirked.

"It doesn't matter what house I'm in. Bullying is intolerable." As they both stood, Bellua looked him in the eye and said, "And I'm saying that _for _you and _to _you."

"I know." But he stuck out his hand. "Barty Crouch. Junior. Though I guess you already know."

"Crouch." The Gryffindor repeated, shaking his hand once. Crouch's tongue darted over his lips as Bellua added, "Funny, I think you're the only Death Eater who'd shake my hand."

"Probably because I'm not a Death Eater. They wouldn't accept me, since they and the majority of spineless Hufflepuffs think I'm, ah, _unhinged_. They say I go into the ForbiddenForest and make hordes of Inferi." He spoke with an air of startling normality.

Not sure how to respond to these words, Bellua asked somewhat timidly, "And do you?"

"Course not! The ForbiddenForest is off limits, remember? Though as for the Inferi, I'm not making any promises." He laughed, and Bellua smiled timidly.

"So they think you're insane."

He sobered almost immediately, tongue darting over his lips again. "Yes."

"That's...unfortunate."

"How do you know, though?" Crouch smirked. "You've never actually met me but you're already looking at me strange, like I'm going to curse you right here. Guess that, considering how there's no one watching..." He trailed off, still smiling as he licked his lips yet again. "Ah, well, maybe another time. I'll see you around, Dimid. Goodness knows you're popular now."

"Yeah...you too." She waved slightly. "Oh, and you do know you lick your upper lip more than ten times throughout that conversation?"

He looked at her. "Does it matter?"

"It's just a bad habit, is all. Might add to the whole _insane _look."

He rolled his eyes. "Ah, I'll grow out of it. See you, Dimid. Watch your back."

"Right...bye." After he'd left, Bellua muttered, "Well, then." And turned around –

To see Sirius standing right behind her.

"God!" She jumped at his presence and backed away. How had he managed to sneak up on her?! Had he been _spying _on her the whole time?

At her expression, he smiled crookedly and said, "Surprised?"

"Well, I yelled 'God!' and leapt backwards like a cat, so yeah, I'd say you did!" She exclaimed, making his smirk widen.

"Fraternizing with the enemy's never a good thing." He mused. "Well anyway, I came to tell you that I'm going to be going to the Shrieking Shack on the full moon." He said calmly.

Narrowing her eyes, she retorted a little too sharply, "Well, that's a surprise, considering how you've been avoiding us all month."

His eyes darted down to her lips, and briefly she wondered if they were still red. But he didn't comment, just dropped his smile and replied softly, "Well, I'm talking to you now aren't I-"

"Yes, which makes no sense considering how _I'm _not going to the Shrieking Shack." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Why aren't you telling Remus this?"

He paused. "Well, _sorry _for talking to you for the first time in a month." His voice was suddenly defensive.

"Oh, I'm sorry for disappointing you; did you think you'd just get welcomed back with open arms? You've been ignoring us all month, not even pranking with James and Peter, and doing whatever you can to stay as far from us as possible! And God, now that I've started hanging out with the other Marauders more I realize just how fun it all is, and I can't understand why you'd just-"

"Wait. You've...been marauding?" He interrupted, stunned.

"Well, yeah. Not hurting anyone, obviously, but just harmless fun. Like the Glitter Prank last week."

"That was you?" He stared.

"Yeah, so what?"

He stared at her for a long moment, then smiled hollowly and spoke in a bitter, sad voice, "Guess I've been replaced, then."

"Oh my GOD, Sirius!" She groaned. "You're _terrible_ at apologizing."

"Okay then, maybe I just won't." He hissed, turning around to leave.

"Sirius!" She grabbed his arm. "You got yourself into this argument, no way you're getting out of it!"

"Yes I am - I'm doing it right now, since apparently NO ONE wants me around."

"Well, it's not like we're doing terribly without you!" She hissed.

They stared at each other for a long while, Sirius's face reflecting his hurt. "So I _have _been replaced."

Crumbling under his gaze, Bellua said immediately, "No, wait, I didn't mean it that way-"

"You know what? I think you did." Shrugging off her hand, he added, "If no one wants me around, maybe I'll just stay in tonight."

"Sirius-"

"Saying my name over and over again isn't going to help." He snapped, turning around and shoving a sixth-year out of the way to storm out the door.

"Sirius." Bellua mumbled, eyes shining with tears. "Come back."

_Please, please come back. I'm scared of the moon. I need your help._

But she knew he wouldn't come.

It was just her, alone once again.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

"It'll be okay." Remus smiled weakly.

"No it won't." Bellua mumbled. "I'm going to rip my own face off."

"I'll visit you first thing tomorrow, okay?" He promised.

"I...okay."

"And I got you a present."

She looked up at him. "God, you're too nice for your own good, Remus."

Smiling wider, he shrugged. "Ah, I try." Bellua laughed slightly at his words and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.

"Be safe."

"I will, beautiful."

"If you keep calling me beautiful I'll need a pet name for you."

He raised his eyebrows. "But you are beautiful."

"So I should call you Mr. Mustache or Big Bad Wolf, huh?"

"Since when am I the Big Bad Wolf?" He scowled. "And I like my mustache."

"It's not a mustache. It's four little hairs."

"Still more than yours."

"Oh God..." She laughed again. "And you're the Big Bag Wolf because you're bigger than me, and just _happen _to be a lycanthrope, and calling you Big Wolf sounds insulting."

"So does Big Bad Wolf."

"If I say it while we're snogging, will that make it better?"

"Probably not."

"Want to try anyway?"

"Sure." He grinned and leaned forward, a warm, calloused hand gently holding the back of her neck as they kissed, at first carefully, then more urgently. Bellua knew that someone could walk by and catch the two in a makeout, but didn't care. Her system was in overdrive and she _liked it._

"Remus..." She mumbled around the kiss, and he backed away slightly, there foreheads still pressed against each other.

"Yes, beautiful?" His voice barely a whisper, yet Bellua could hear him perfectly.

"Thank you."

"Anytime." He kissed her again, quickly, then backed away and said softly, his tone taking on a seriousness and protectiveness, "It'll be okay, okay?"

"I'd almost forgotten," She sighed.

"I know. But it's going to happen whether we snog or not."

She bit her lip, then asked, "Is Sirius going to go?"

"I don't know. He didn't speak with me."

"Oh." She looked up at him. "Be careful then."

"You too." One more kiss, then the two werewolves parted separate ways, Bellua down near the lake to the crypt, Remus into the ForbiddenForest. With a heavy breath, she knocked on the door, earning a gentle, "Come in," From the other side. As she stepped into the all-too-familiar, two-room building, Professor McGonagall smiled gently at her.

"Hello, dear. How are you feeling?"

_Like I'm going to die. _"The usual," Bellua didn't lie.

"Any more...unusual dreams?"

"Actually," For the first time since kissing Remus, she smiled. "I haven't had any nightmares since...well, since Silas came."

"Any?" She repeated, arching an eyebrow. "None at all?"

"None at all." She smiled wider, "Quite a relief, especially considering...y'know, what with today approaching."

"Yes, well-" She paused. "I need to get inside now."

"Right, yes, of course." McGonagall smiled weakly as she walked with Bellua to the next room.

Just as they were about to lock Bellua in the chamber, someone knocked frantically on the door.

"Hello?!" They called, voice muffled by the thick stone door. "Professor? Bellua?"

Stunned, McGonagall speed-walked to the door and tore it open.

"What?!" She gaped. "What in Merlin's name are you doing here, Snape?!"

"I need to see Bellua!" He gasped for breath, clearly having run the entire way from the castle."

"Now's *pant* not a good time *gasp* Severus!" Bellua gasped hoarsely as she clutched her stomach. "Professor, please!"

"Wait! Bellua I finished the Wolfsbane Potion!" Severus gasped.

"What?" The werewolf mumbled, suddenly crying out as an audible _crack _resonated throughout the room.

"What is-"

"It'll help her think! Keep her from hurting herself, she could be killed for all we-"

"PROFESSOR, PLEASE!" Bellua shrieked in pain as her eyes changed colour, her vision blurred and the pain set in. Immediately McGonagall turned around, forced the door open and shoved Bellua's stumbling form in, about to lock it when Severus yelled, "No!" And pounded on the door. "Bellua, can you hear me? BELLUA!"

"HRAAAAAAAH!" Her scream was all too easily heard through the door. "D-DON'T O-O-OPEN THE D-D-DOOR!"

"Professor, you have to let me try it." Severus begged. "We have at least another forty seconds before-"

"Go. Go in,_ now._" And with a wand-flick, the door shot open. "But I will not risk your life any further!" She called as Severus ran into the battered room, yanking a small vial from his bag.

It was horrifying. Bellua writhed as her skin paled even further, hair falling out and bones pushing against her skin so they nearly cut through. She moaned in pain as Severus neared her, hissing under his breath and growling, "C'mon, Bellua. Just drink it, just drink it." And, not knowing what else to do, forced the gross liquid down her throat. She hacked, then sputtered, then gasped for breath as her face slowly elongated into a wolfish muzzle.

"Bellua, it's going to be okay," He gasped as the last of the liquid made its way into her throat. She growled against it, then jerked her wolf head back as the gruesome transformation was complete. "It's going to be okay, it's going to be-"

And he was suddenly in the other room, locked door blocking Bellua from his view. Cursing under his breath, he dared to snap to the Professor who'd Apparated him to safety, "I was so close!"

"You heard what I said! I am not risking your life any further." And after a brief staring match, the Slytherin looked at the ground.

"Sorry, Professor." He mumbled.

She softened at his apology, but barely. "You may have only been looking out for your friend, but I warn you to be more careful." She opened her mouth to say more when a very soft scratching was heard against the door.

They both froze. After a few moments of silence, a gentle whine was heard against the door.

"She...it...what is it doing?" Severus whispered.

"She's...telling us it worked." McGonagall replied softly, grinning uncharacteristically. "It actually...actually worked."

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

_"It's going to be okay, It's going to be okay..."_

Bellua opened her eyes to find herself lying on her side on the cold crypt floor. She was not in the hospital wing. She was not covered in scratches. What'd...what'd happened? Shouldn't it be over by now? Shouldn't she have memories? Shouldn't she have-

"GAH!" She yelped – for she'd shifted her weight in order to sit up, only to see a pale _paw _move instead of her hand. Jumping to her feet with alarming grace, she stared down at her lean muscles rippling around bone white skin and fine, nearly invisible hairs. Her keen nose detected Severus's scent in the room, meaning that...maybe...hopefully...

It'd worked? Now that she focused, she knew her vision had adjusted all too well, although the colors of the battered furniture were dulled and grayish. It was...incredible. Her legs yearned to run, and her ears and nose angled to another wall. _Isn't the door there...? _she wondered, sniffed at the edges until her nose made up for her weaker vision and detected the door. Muffled voices were heard on the other end, and she waited for a pause before scratching at the stone with her thick claws. She didn't want to get out – still terrified of her current state, but wanted to ask them...wanted to know how this was possible.

Unknowingly, her long tongue licked her lips, only to find a pungent, loathsome taste. Coughing and spitting, she gagged against the nasty flavor and spat several times until she recognized it with shock.

_Wolfsbane._

_So...Severus...he...and then I..._

Relief washed over her. This was normal, this was safe. She could control her movement, go another without visiting the hospital wing.

_What a relief. So perhaps I should just fall asleep, and-_

A vicious twitch shot through her. Gentle pain zapped at her side and a low growl rumbled in her throat. And another, and another. Eventually the hurt increased until she roared in agony, her mind already losing its oh-so-precious control...

The werewolf, free once again, let out an almighty scream.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

_The hospital wing was cold when her eyes snapped open. This was the first sign. The next hint was the sunlight streaming through the windows despite absolutely no soreness in Bellua's now-human form. And her clothes were neither pajams nor ripped shreds, but her usual cover-up. So she knew, as she sat up and reached for the side table only to find her wand gone, that she was dreaming. "Damn," She mumbled, before standing up, walking into the middle of the room and yelling into the air, "Well?! Where are you this time?!"_

_"This time?" A cold voice repeated, making Bellua freeze. "Have you been expecting me, Bellua?"_

_After exhaling with a heavy shudder, the werewolf managed to mumble, "Oh."_

_"Yes, I believe _'oh' _is a proper analogy." Jocelyn Meracus circled into her daughter's point of view, grinning widely. Her robes, immaculate as ever, swished around her and further complemented her elegance. "And where is my husband, I wonder?"_

_"I-I don't know." She mumbled. "I'm assuming he found out how to let you in."_

_"Sadly, no. This is all my work."_

_"Liar."_

_"Now, now, no need to insult me." The sweetness of her smile made Bellua want to throw up. "I might get angry."_

_"You plan to torture me to madness either way. I've realized that there's absolutely nothing I say that could possible penetrate your thick, butt-ugly skull as a signal to back off, you deranged, sadistic purist git." She snapped._

_"How dare you?!" Meracus snarled, suddenly in a rage. When she slashed out her wand through thin air, Bellua felt as though a tangible hand had slapped her hard across the face, and she stumbled to the side, gasping in pain. "You think you've won!" Meracus's shriek echoed through the room. "You think you're strong! You think I can't do whatever I want! You're so, _so _wrong, Bellua, I could show you things that would drive you beyond mere insanity!" Another wand flick, and that same force punched Bellua in the nose, breaking it and bloodying her lip._

_"Well, what're you waiting for? Go on, torture me." She hissed around the pain. "Funny, how you act all pretty when, as you really get into your fun, you slowly...unravel. Slowly show us just how mad you really, truly are. You're worse than I am because you weren't _forced _to be a monster. You were too weak to resist, is all." _

_"HOW DARE YOU!" Meracus screeched. "You hideous, wretched stain on our family tree, you will pay for this! Cruci-"_

_"Protego!" Someone roared as the shield shot across the room and blocked the flash of light. Fury etched onto her face, Meracus whipped around to see a man, gasping for breath and clutching his side as though the spell had taken too much out of him to continue fighting._

_"Oh, YOU. You will burn, traitor, hotter than my abomination of a daughter!" Meracus roared. "Crucio!"_

_The man dropped to the ground, screaming in agony. "RUN, B-BELLUA!" He managed around the pain. "R-R-RUN W-WHILE YOU S-STILL CAN!"_

_Bellua stared at the screaming man, the laughing woman, and suddenly she was running, running at the woman who thought she'd run like a coward and she was jumping on Meracus's back and squeezing her small hands around the woman's neck. With a cry of surprise, Jocelyn's concentration shattered and Bellua squeezed her eyes shut, forcing her mind to go to all those Occlumency lessons, about forcing someone out of your mind-_

_And Jocelyn was gone and Bellua fell to the floor. Her legs wobbled madly as though she'd just awoken from shifting back into a human, and she could do nothing but _crawl _to the man on the floor. _

_He was whimpering in pain. Of course, when one had been as tortured as he, the Cruciatus Curse would have to do so, so much more to make it truly unbearable. For a moment, she realized that perhaps...perhaps he was dead, going to die outside of his body. "S..." She struggled to say his name, but didn't seem to be able to. So instead she reached for the wand lying a few feet from him and mumbled, "Vulnera Sanentur." Praying it would work. After several moments, the man lifted his head and mumbled, "You didn't run."_

_"I'm not a coward." She said softly. "And I'm not sure if you noticed, you were in agony. I can't just turn my back when that's happening."_

_"Then that makes one of us." He smiled ._

_"Are you dying?"_

_"No. I'm just hurting very, very much."_

_"You say that as if it's no big deal." She frowned gently._

_"I'm-" He coughed violently. "I'm used to it. Could you just...send me back...to my body...so I can rest."_

_"Are you sure you're not dying?"_

_"Positive."_

_"I...okay then." And with a steady breath, blue light washed from her fingers and enveloped the girl and Silas Meracus, pulling them both out of the dream world._

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

"Control was temporary, but still there. The Wolfsbane Potion _works. _For a little while, I could-" Bellua twitched obviously, gasping at the pain in her side. "Sorry, it's just...why is it hurting so much?" She managed around the subsiding pain.

"That's where you were first bitten, was it not? Or was it the bite on your arm?"

"No, the bite on my arm was me..."

"Then perhaps the Wolfsbane Potion exhibits side-effects – including the twitch that seems to lead to pain from where the magic was first transmitted." Madam Pomfrey rubbed her temples, sighing gently. "I've never experienced anything like this." _Neither have I, _Bellua wanted to say dryly, but chose not to. "Professor Slughorn _is _working on something, but the only immediate cure is the Fully Body-Bind Curse, which of course isn't the wisest choice, but-"

"Could you?" Bellua straightened up, only to hiss between her teeth as another twitch sent a split-moment jolt of pain. "I mean, are you allowed to curse me if I ask you?"

"Yes, I suppose I am. I was going to suggest it, as a matter of fact." Madam Pomfrey smiled hesitantly. "Strange, I'm usually _removing _curses, not granting them. Are you comfortable?"

Bellua pulled the blankets up to cover her chest and lay on her back. "Yes."

"Will you want a sleeping draught tonight?"

"I think I'll be okay, thank you."

"Excellent." And by the flick of Madam Pomfrey's wand, Bellua felt her body freeze up. At first it terrified her, for suddenly she was completely immobile, but once she let her muscles relax it was quite soothing. No more pain for the next several hours was quite a calming notion.

"Goodnight, dear." Madam Pomfrey smiled. "I'll be here at noon to free you."

"And with another wand-flick, the shutters closed over the ornate windows, plunging the room into a comfortable dimness, but not so dark as she couldn't make out everything around her easily.

_This is better_, she wanted to say aloud. _Calm, peaceful, and for once I _know _my parents are too exhausted to come say hello..._

_But he took the Cruciatus Curse for me. _

_He didn't let her in. He was in agony. He's done it before._

_What has she done to him?_

_Someone coming. _Instinctively, she shut her eyes tightly and forced her breathing to calm, the curse making it easy to feign sleep. She heard the door open, and close, and the warmth of a candle was set on her night table. There was a long pause and she considered opening her eyes, but chose against it when a gentle sigh reached her ears. Then he spoke,

"I came." He murmured. Bellua desperately wanted to sit bolt upright and shout, _Sirius!_

"I told myself I wouldn't, but I did. I can't decide on anything, can I?" She could imagine his sour smile as footsteps announced his nearing presence.

"I...I want to confess." He said after a long pause. "I kept hearing about what was going on and you wanting to talk to me, and I couldn't. I just couldn't talk normally, nicely. You won't get why, hopefully you'll _never _get why. I don't want you to understand. Please don't. Please promise me you'll never understand." He stopped, than laughed bitterly and said, "And you can't hear a word I'm saying," Then sighed again. The creak of the chair told her that he was very close, and she could smell his cologne.

"I've been avoiding you for many reasons. My...my family is falling apart." His voice cracked at these words. "I'm going to get burned off the tree, never spoken to again. Guess Hogwarts is more of a home than anything...but still. It hurts, really. I don't know your whole back-story but I think you'd understand." He swallowed back tears before continuing. "And I'm feeling remorse, for God's sakes. And I keep worrying about you, though that doesn't have anything to do with ignoring you. I hope you're not having any nightmares. I hope you're not falling for the pressure. I hope you and Remus don't break up." He paused again, then growled angrily. "I'm such a prat, did you know that? I'm such a slimy, arrogant coward! I mean, look at you!" He yelled furiously, storming away. "You have EVERY RIGHT to be bitter! You could bully and do terrible things and you'd be justified! You've gone through hell and you sit there, healing goddamn Slytherins and acing classes and you're one of the kindest people I've ever met and I'm losing control and yelling at a girl under sleeping drugs!"

His voice became more and more frantic and he snarled in frustration, standing and kicking a chair over. Bellua heard it clatter to the ground yet still could not move as he spoke in a strained voice. "Why. Why are you so much stronger than me? I look at you and I think, no, I _know _I should've been placed in Slytherin, house of the weak, house of brains used for no good, house the damned Black family. You deserve to be in Gryffindor. You're brave, and smart, and strong. You think I'm strong? I bully kids out of _boredom _and any smarts I have are used figuring out more ways to hurt them. I'm a coward. A bloody coward. But you know what?" He was panting, losing control, getting angrier. "That's why I'm such a heartless toe-rag. I'm Sirius Black, the one Black that didn't make Slytherin. But it didn't have anything to do with goddamn _nobility!_ Just my rebel streak and my half-blood pals.

"But I still tell myself, hey, I'm brave, right? I stand up for my friends, and that's a start, right? _Right?!_" Just as he sounded on the brink of exploding, he sighed and plopped down next to her. All the while she remained completely silent, completely frozen.

Another sigh. "And then I look at you and I realize how terrible I am. I realize that you, a werewolf, a girl who has gone through hell and is justified to be ten times worse than me, is so much better. I look at you and I realize how much better and stronger you are. I look at you and Remus kissing and I want to, I want to hit him. Through him out the window. Depreciate him until you decide he's no good for you. But he is. And I'm not. I'm not good enough for you. I look at you...and..." His breath was ragged from his shouts and suddenly she felt it on her cheek, as he leaned in and his breath hovered over her lips for a brief moment before he kissed her. His lips moved against hers and she felt no insane rush, no mad power like whenever she kissed Remus. Instead it was warmth and shock mixing with the butterflies in her stomach, her mind going blank as her heartbeat, as those four and a half seconds felt like an eternity. She felt a tear trickle from his face onto hers, warm and wet on her cheek.

Then he broke it off, and murmured, "That's why I wouldn't come. I knew that...I knew that would happen. You see how bad I am? I'm so used to getting everything I want I can't even keep myself from my pal's girlfriend." He backed away, rubbing his hands together. "But that's never going to happen again. I'm sorry I did this, and wouldn't talk to you, and beat up Snape. I'll talk to you again, and my friends, and you'll never know about this. I'll visit you soon, I swear." And he stood, and left, and all Bellua could do was blink.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

"Uh, excuse me?"

*Disdainfully sniffs* "What do you want, Slytherin?"

"I need to talk to you. In private."

"What? Why?"

"Please, it's very, very important. In involves Sirius Black."

"Sirius Black? Why, are you trying to get him expelled?"

"No, of course not...but I know someone who knows him very, very well. And I'm sure you'd like some pointers on how to, y'know, _grab his attention._"

"I...really?"

"Really." *Smiles*

"Uh..." *Glances over shoulder* "Okay, then."

"Let's go to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, no one goes in there."

"Fine, but I'm keeping my wand out."

"Fine by me."

"Okay, we're here...now what?"

"We're going to make a trade. I tell you how to capture the Marauder's heart, you tell me who's auditioning for the Gryffindor Quidditch team since the Beater Ana Sparks dropped out."

"How do you know what Sirius is like?" *Raises eyebrow suspiciously*

"I'm in the same year as his brother. We have...strange families, and talk about them a lot. And he owes me a favor."

"Uh, sure. Okay. Ana Sparks left becau-"

"Okay, stop. I was lying."

"What?"

"I don't want to know about Ana Sparks, but Bellua Dimid."

"Dimid?" *Looks around nervously* "What about her?"

"She has secrets. I want to know what they are."

"I...no. Much as I'd like to, I can't tell. I promised to Dumbledore, and-"

"Okay, okay, that's enough. I see what I have to do."

"For God's sakes, are all Slytherins so rude?! And stop licking your lips like that, it makes you look like a-"

"Your prattling irritates me, foolish girl. Stop it."

"You did _not _just call me a-"

"_Imperius._" Barty Crouch Jr. grinned at the now-controlled Riley McGuire and said in a low voice. "Now, I want to you to forget this conversation as soon as I leave the room. Your now-false memory states that you came in here because, I don't know, your makeup was smudged or something ridiculous like that. Start from the fateful Day One, bore me to death on details of this Bellua Dimid character. Just tell. Me. Everything."

**~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~**

**I love BCJ :)  
For those of you who were worried this would happen...yeah, I went there. HOWEVER, I have no plans of inducing a serious (haha, get it? Sirius?...never mind) love triangle. Even so, Bellua's a bit ticked off right now...  
Oh, and does anyone think this should be rated T? I'm not entirely sure...if you think it should be please let me know.  
Buh-bai!  
~ Koletis/Shadrilyx**


	14. Chapter 13 point 5 - An Exaggerated AN

**Chapter 13.5**

* * *

Bellua rolled out of bed as soon as the spell wore off. Nearly frantic, she stood, grabbed her wand, and threw on a dressing robe over her pajamas, and began to speed-walk towards the door. _Where did he go...have to find him...have to find Remus-_

"Hey."

The werewolf froze at the unfamiliar voice, turning around slowly. To her shock, someone was standing there, only fifteen feet from her. Apparation was impossible in Hogwarts...Invisibility Cloak, maybe? It was a girl, or was it a woman? She couldn't tell the age, for the black hooded cloak that concealed the female's face. Shadows that seemed to bend and dance around her, and only skin visible around the black, blue and bloodred robes was the tip of her pale chin and the edge of a slight smirk.

A thin, gloved hand gestured to the startled sixth-year. "Yeah, you. You shouldn't go out there. Still haven't gotten checked to make sure the potion hasn't flushed your system. You're a half-decent healer, use your brain. Although you're probably too in awe of me to think properly."

Bellua stared. "Who are you?"

The figure gave a slight shrug. "Doesn't matter. Call me Empress, okay?"

Bellua blinked, confused. "Empress?"

"Yeah."

"You don't...look like an Empress."

"Have you ever seen an Empress before?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then you can't possibly know what one looks like, or behaves like. The truth is, I am omnipotent, and thus can act as un-Empress-y as I want without really being threatened. Using power to my advantage, y'know?" She crossed her arms over her chest, her smile widening.

"I...I don't understand-"

"Of course you don't. I know exactly which level of oddness it takes to confuse you."

The girl's grip on her wand tightened. "How?"

The figure appeared to examine her nails despite wearing gloves. "Because I created you."

Her eyes widened. "W-w-what?"

"Don't act so surprised, Bells. Just be happy your creator is someone this awesome."

"No...what's...that makes no sense-"

"Of course it doesn't. But still, you should be grateful you get to meet me. I'm breaking so many rules here...and the fourth wall. Or is this the fifth wall?"

Bellua lifted her wand, gritting her teeth. What sort of person was this, this _Empress? _A Dark Witch? An imposter, certainly. Forcing a determined, unafraid look, she asked, "Why are you here?"

"Just to tell you I haven't abandoned you."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"Not to you, anyway. You've been lying here since April, you know."

"What? But it's November."

"Not in the real world it isn't."

"This _is _the real world."

"Nope." the figure replied calmly, popping the _P _sound. "In the real world it's 2013, July sixth. I'm not giving any spoilers, but it's pretty weird then. Especially for the Muggles. Dancing Korean youtube sensations, flying pop tart cats, Team Edward versus Team Jacob, the dreaded My Immortal fanfiction...well, let's just say society's awful complex."

"You can't possibly be a Muggle. Or sane for that matter." Bellua retorted somewhat angrily. Partially because this Empress woman wasn't making a drop of sense.

"Nope and nope. I'm an author."

"An author? So what?"

"It means I can break fourth walls and that I am, like you pointed out, _definitely _not sane."

"I don't even know what a fourth wall is!" Bellua lifted her wand a little higher. "What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean, you haven't abandoned me?!"

"I mean you're going to get to continue your adventure."

"My...adventure?"

"Yup. Trust me, your life is going to get even _more _complex than it is now."

"How do you know my life is complex?"

"Because, like I _already said_, I created you. I've written out your entire life, Bells. Imagine it like a huge document, online, for a bunch of other people around the world to read."

Bellua blinked. "...online?"

The Empress bit her lip. "Right. Seventies. No internet. I forgot."

"But why would my life get more complex? Isn't it bad enough as it is?"

The Empress grinned. "Because I'm mean, that's why."

"That's not fair!"

"Neither is the memory charm I'm about to cast."

She paled. "What? _Protego!"_ And with a flourish of her wand a shield more than powerful enough to block a Memory charm appeared before her, blue-white and emanating a faint glow.

But the figure just waved her wand dismissively. "Bells, I can break through that with a thought."

"Just tell me! Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Telling me these things!"

"Because the readers are waiting, and they probably think I'm dead or something. Or that _you're _dead or something. This is just to prove that I haven't abandoned _them _either. Your book has been stuck at Chapter Thirteen for way too long. And I even reached fifty followers and forty reviews, I feel really awful right now."

"What? What readers? What followers?"

"The ones who are probably really mad at me right now."

"Sort of like I am?"

The Empress grinned. "Yeah. But don't worry, the next chapter will be done by, say, the end of July, max? Yeah, that sounds about right. It should be up by then."

"Up where?"

The Empress sighed. "Goodness, how did you survive without the internet back then?"

"I don't even know what an internet is!"

"Right. Gosh, I'm an idiot."

"I know." Bellua hissed.

"The Empress turned sharply. "Don't you sass me, young lady. Oh, and before you can object, _Obliviate_." And with just a simple point of her gloved hand, the green glow shot from the Empress's fingertips, cut through the werewolf's Shield Charm and hit her full in the chest. With another hand gesture, a rush of wind surrounded her and Empress Shadrilyx was back in time, observing Sirius's hasty retreat after kissing Bellua. Of course he didn't see her. He only could've if she'd wanted him to.

"Cute. This was one of my favourite parts." The Empress sighed, then with a swish of her cape, Disapparated. And yes, Apparation is impossible in Hogwarts, but she did it anyway. Because she was just that awesome. And had already broken too many rules as it was, so one more didn't really matter. Get over it.

* * *

**I'M NOT DEAD!**

**I wrote this just because saying 'sorry, will be publishing soon' is sooooo boring. And unbefitting of someone as abnormal and not-boring as I.  
Chapter 14 will, as said above, be up by the end of July, most likely before. I will delete this and replace it with Chapter 14...or maybe I won't It was really fun to write...**

Oh, and thank you...  
Inigo Montaya  
Invisia  
GinnyMercury  
Lady Cocoa  
PJO-Blue-cookies  
Theta-McBride

**Did I mention that you guys always have such cool usernames?  
See y'all soon,**  
**Shadrilyx**  
**Almighty Empress Of All Things Sinister And Awesome**


	15. Chapter 14, At Long Last

**Well, here it is. Chapter Fourteen. Stuff's gettin' pretty...*takes of sunglasses*...Sirius right about now.  
YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...oh, forget it.  
Inigo Montoya (YOU KILLED MY FATHER)  
anonymous (Ohohohoh so mysterious)  
warewolf-princess558750 (Werewolves, you say? Heeheeheehee)  
Theta-McBride (Okay that is seriously one of the coolest names ever)  
Lady Cocoa (GODDESS OF ALL CHOCOLATES. Yes? No? ...)  
Thanks to all of y'all who were amused by my AN. It was seriously a blast to write...all five minutes of it. I've decided to keep it up because it makes me giggle.  
Again, sorry for the horrible wait. Hopefully I'll be able to post much faster from now on. At least less than MONTHS ON END.**

**Excuse me while I go wallow in self-guilt now.**

* * *

"It smells horrendous."

"Trust me, it will fight any side effects."

Bellua drank deeply, and almost gagged on the potion. "Oh, _God_, it's vile!"

Madam Pomfrey nodded, seeming vaguely amused. "I assumed it would be."

"Can I...can I leave now?"

"Not yet, dear. You're not usually so insistent on leaving, is there something important today? You don't have classes for another several hours."

"I have...stuff to do." The werewolf knew she'd reddened but the healer didn't seem to notice.

"I'm sorry dear, but I'm putting your health first. The Wolfsbane Potion, while quite a miracle in itself, could harbor some side-effects. Not only that but you scratched your ribcage very deeply last night and I want to ensure that it heals cleanly."

"I...okay." Her shoulder slumped.

"And there's someone to see you."

"Really?" She straightened. "Who?"

"Mr. Lupin." Madam Pomfrey smiled. "I'll give you two some time alone, but please remember my words: No leaving that spot until four o'clock exactly, understand?"

Bellua sighed deeply. "Yes."

"Excellent. You may come in now, Mr. Lupin," The witch called as she trundled out the door just as Remus burst in. He walked with a slight limp but otherwise was grinning.

"Bellua," He hugged her tightly before plopping down on the seat next to her, not smiling anymore. "Oh God, I heard about the potion and kind of freaked out and-"

"Don't worry about it. I'm fi-well, not _fine, _but the usual." She smiled hollowly.

_Liar. I'm freaking out. Guess what, Remus? Your best friend kissed your girlfriend and has no intention of letting either of us know. _

"Are you sure?" He frowned. "You look...distant."

"How so?" She blinked innocently, feeling terrible. _I'm lying to my boyfriend. Great, Dimid. Just great._

"I don't know. You just do. Sorry, I can't think of another description." He made a face and Bellua suddenly became very interested in fixing her sleep-messy hair. _As if it isn't messy enough, _she mused.

Remus leaned forward. "But I want to know how you're feeling."

"Fine, fine. Usual all-around crappiness." She smiled vaguely, pulling her fingers through her knotty, thick mane and trying in vain to smooth the top.

He scowled in confusion. "Is that a good thing?"

"Not sure." She forced herself to grin at him, but was not given a smile in return. Instead Remus was staring at her with a wide-eyed, horrified expression. "Remus?" She asked, and he lost control, leaping backwards.

"Merlin's Beard!" He yelled in surprise.

"What, _what?_"

"Your...your teeth, they're..._growing._"

"What? What do you mean, _growing?_" She frowned, lifted her hand to her mouth and, to her surprise, wincing as the pad of her index finger was nearly punctured by the unnaturally sharp fang that had replaced her left canine. "Oh my god," She gasped, already finding it difficult to speak around the massive teeth. "They are!"

"Well I wouldn't've said they were if they weren't!" He said irritably, but was clearly panicking.

"Shut up!" She began panicking. "What do I do?!"

"Uh, j-just...stay there. I'll get Madam Pomfrey." He danced on the spot for a brief moment before bolting.

Her vision was clouding. _God, what's happening to me? _She waved her hand in front of her face...only to see it in brown tones, her color perception fading fast. Pain seared across the tips of her ears and her head and she gripped her skull tightly, gritting her teeth against the pain as the skin on her hands bubbled as though she'd drunk a Polyjuice Potion.

_Relax. Reach for your wand. _The voice in her mind told her gently.

"GO AWAY!" She screamed aloud. "It's not – _grunt – _a good time right now!"

_If you'd just listen to me, you'd understand. Relax. Loosen the grip on your head, if your skull wants to grow you'll just be causing more pain. Relax. Breathe._

How had _he _known she had been holding her breath? But, almost to her irritation, she relaxed.

_Good. Now reach for your wand. Yes, _he added when she shrieked at the sight of her arm. _I believe Mr. Snape missed out on a certain Homorphus Charm, despite you specifically mentioning it. How disappointing._

"Shut up..." She moaned around the pain in her skull – as though it was about to explode. This wasn't right. This wasn't how she usually changed. She wasn't changing like she did every month – this was something far different, and very, _very _terrifying.

_Your wand is right there, daughter._

"Fine! _Homorphia!" _She practically snarled the words, just as Madam Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall and Remus ran in.

"Bellua!" Pomfrey gasped at the red-eyed, fanged girl even as the crimson hue of her gaze began to quickly recede. "Did you cast a Homorphus Charm?"

"Out!"

Remus paused. "What?"

"Out, out, get him out right NOW." She hissed, clutching her head even as her fangs shrunk back into normal teeth and her eyes refocused in their blue shade.

"What? Your father?!"

"Yes, of course!" She snapped irritably. "I think he's gone, but please, get a shield up or something! Anything to keep him away!"

"Ah, I understand, thank you for telling me this Bellua," Pomfrey reassured her as Remus rushed to her side and calmed her down. Inside Bellua was wondering how the hell the healer could seem so relaxed. "I will alert Professor Dumbledore immediately. You're free to go but expect me to call on you soon, Bellua. You'll be skipping any classes you have today." And without any further description, she whisked herself out the door.

"Guh." The fifth-year clutched her head tighter. "Migraine."

"Maybe you should come upstairs." Remus fretted, clearly frustrated with his state of helplessness.

"I should. I'm sick of this room." She growled. Then her tone lightened as she added, "S-sorry, I'm just really off my rocker today."

"I can tell," But behind the sarcastic comment was a lighthearted twinkle in his eyes and Bellua knew he didn't take her crabbiness personally. "C'mon, let's go. You can apologize by being nice and, I dunno, helping me with my homework since you're unoccupied for the next twelve hours."

"Ha ha," But she followed him to the Gryffindor common room.

"Let's go get your things." He smiled at her as they headed to the girl's dormitories. Bellua opened the door...

To find a black _thing _sitting on her bed.

"Gah!" She yelped in surprise, but Remus just laughed and stepped inside.

"I wasn't expecting that." He smiled wider and held out his hand. Hesitantly, she took it and stepped in, only to squeak in surprise and rush forward to the thing on her bed. The 'thing' was actually a large cat, its fur so black it was nearly blue and intelligent yellow eyes focusing on her.

"James's present to Lily for her birthday. The only one he's given her that she's accepted so far." Remus said from behind her, grinning as she stared at the cat. "And he seems pretty calm around you."

"He's gorgeous," She stepped forward and offered her hand for the cat to sniff. Once the feline seemed satisfied, Bellua sat besides it and scratched the cat's head gently, making it purr and lean towards her. "I've always liked cats. My, uh, mother had some. But they were all really nasty and hissy."

"Well, he'll be a nice change. He's friendly, isn't he?" Remus said, sitting on the other side of the cat. Said cat, who had clearly accepted Bellua into its tight circle of acceptable humans, was now rubbing against her, the purr a consistent rumble in its throat. "He hasn't got a name yet, but Lily's open to suggestions."

"I should brainstorm then." She looked at the cat thoughtfully. It easily reminded her of her Animagus form. Figuring something whimsical and inspired would come to her later, she said, "An idea will come eventually. In the meantime let's get this homework done." She picked up the cat, setting it on Lily's bed, but apparently it had no intention of leaving this new human, and came right back. Bellua looked at Remus's bulging backpack, slung over his shoulder and clearly very heavy, and arched an eyebrow when he spilled the extensive amount of books and parchment out of the bag. "Goodness, did your chest get stolen or something?"

He paused for a moment longer than mere confusion before asking, "No, why?"

"You have _everything _in here, even textbooks from way earlier this week. Suddenly out of room?"

"Not...not really. I've just been, y'know, working on stuff that takes up a lot of space."

"What kind of stuff?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Just stuff. And don't you look at me all suspiciously like that, because I _know _you've been hiding something for the last thirty minutes."

She was silent for a moment longer than what could be taken as normal. "Nothing that needs to be explained just yet." She chose to say.

Remus arched an eyebrow at her but didn't push it, instead giving her a calm, somewhat lopsided smile. "Well, in that case we'd best get started, then. Unless you have something deep and inspirational to say."

She smiled in return. "Can I ask you a question or two?"

"You just did."

"Can I ask you another-uh, I'll just skip to the chase." _Tell him. Tell him what happened. He's going to find out anyway and think it was your fault._ But she pushed the thoughts from her mind (with serious difficulty) and fiddled with her hands – partially just because seeing them sprout hairs and shift in proportion every month brought around the need to feel the slim digits sliding across each other with steady normality. Simply put, she liked to remind herself that she was, once again, relatively normal. "I was wondering how _you _would respond to, y'know, a psychopathic ex-parent trying to convince you he's changed and is willing to help, mostly by assisting you or taking the Cruciatus Curse from the second, insane-er ex-parent." She said, feeling stupider and stupider as the words tumbled from her mouth.

To her surprise, Remus's first words were, "Is insane-er a word?"

She reddened, "Probably not."

"And I have a question: What is he trying to accomplish with you, assuming of course that he is being truthful?"

"Well...he said if we worked together, we could 'get her out of _both _our minds'. What the hell does that mean?" She pulled the unnamed cat onto her lap, which he seemed highly pleased about.

"It means that Meracus is going to teach you Legilimency and hope you'll assist him in driving your mother _completely _off the handle. OR-" He said quickly when she opened her mouth to speak. "OR he could believe that you'll make a trade – you teach him Occlumency, he teaches you Legilimency. The first one is very, _very _dangerous, and ambitious, and has a stupidly low success chance."

"So he'll probably do it then."

"Yes, probably. The second option means he's assuming your actions, which is probably going to end up being a disappointment for him. The third..."

"Wait, there was a third?" She frowned.

"Well, I'm just using that as space for anything I didn't think of." He explained before continuing. "Number three is one of the really, _really _far-fetched ideas I've thought of and dismissed, just because they were so far-fetched. But remember, this guy's insane."

She shrugged. "Expect the unexpected."

"That is such a controversial term."

"And I believe we've dragged out this question enough."

"So do I. Thanks for asking me for advice though."

"Thanks for _giving _me advice. You're way too smart for your own bloody good, you know."

He bit his lip. "That doesn't mean I'm going to get a job when I leave school."

"Sure it does." She thought about bumping his shoulder playfully, then just settled with grabbing him in a tight hug.

Somewhat indignantly, the cat rolled onto the bed and watched the two teenagers kiss. The cat didn't understand these human displays of affection, but figured that when the female whispered, "It'll all work out. You're smart, Remus. Embrace your inner genius." And the male grinned and hugged her again, then that meant they were happy.

And then the female continued petting him, everyone in the room was happy.

For now, anyway.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

"Hi."

Bellua choked on her food and turned around to see Sirius standing behind her. His face was set with a crooked grin but a storm raged in his eyes, as though he couldn't decide on which wild emotion to let loose.

"What is it with you and sneaking up on me?!" She gasped after a moment of getting her breathing under control.

"You have potato on your nose." And without being invited he slipped into the seat next to her. With his elbow resting on the table and his chin against his fist as he faced her, he seemed so totally at ease it infuriated her.

"That's Remus's spot." She muttered rather venomously, reddening as _certain _memories flooded back to her and she wiped the baked potato from her nose. _Please, _she thought to herself desperately, _Let the others get here soon. What is taking them so damn long?!_

His smile remained as he replied, "And where's _da boyfriend _now?"

"He'll be here soon, and _then _you'll have a _lot _of explaining to do." She hissed through her teeth. _How the hell are you staying so calm? Is this a normal thing for you?_

"Got it." He gave her a side-salute before adding, "If I side-hug you will you bite me?"

"Yes." She replied coolly, making him grin wider.

"Nice to see you too." He replied cheerily, not about to move.

"If it was so 'nice to see me'," she mimicked his voice and added air quotes as she spoke, "You would've actually bothered to see me now and then."

He opened his mouth to speak, then paused, and picked something from her shirt.

"Cat hair?" He arched an eyebrow. "You're not being careless, are you?"

"Of course not." She turned to face him. "And why the heck are you talking to me? Why the sudden change of heart?"

_Because you can't stand being away from me? Because you're guilty? Because you miss us?_

_Why aren't you acting guilty? Are you _that _good a liar?_

He shrugged. "I like talking to you."

"I like talking to you too but I don't go off ignoring you for weeks." Then she realized Sirius was looking past her, and turned to see James, Peter and Remus all staring at him.

He looked over at them, his smile twitching but not fading. "Hiya, fellas."

They all stared, Remus the only one not obviously stunned. Peter coughed awkwardly and James cleared his throat. Sirius took the silence to add, "Can I sit here?"

"Why so interested all of a sudden?" James growled, but there was a small spark of hope in his eyes. Despite any tough act he pulled off, the Animagus was clearly delighted to see Sirius wanting to make up.

"I invited him." Remus said softly, making Bellua frown, "On the condition that he's willing to talk.

Bellua knew Remus could sense her tension, and it didn't help that Sirius was staring daggers into her head. As he finished speaking, James said darkly, "Talk. Now."

"You guys didn't say hi to me." His smile had faded slightly but he still seemed altogether cheery.

"Wipe that grin off your face or I'll punch you in the mouth." He retorted sharply.

"Sure you will." But he did drop the smile, "Anyhoo, I've just come to tell you that, well, uh, how do I put this..." He trailed off, then brightened again and said, "Well, I've been pretty crabby, and there's been a heck of a lot going on, but then I said to myself, 'Hell, I don't care if my brother's going off and becoming a Death Eater and siding with Dark Lords and becoming one himself with the full support of my parents who are in fact threatening to disown me, that's no reason to go off ignoring my friends and avoiding any sort of evilness and losing interest in all girls except...well, you get the point." He rolled everything off in one breath, that smile returning. "So, yeah, my excuse is pretty damn good, wouldn't you say?"

Remus and Peter stared openly while Bellua looked lost in thought and James just nodded. "Uh...huh," Was all he said, clearly surprised just not as willing to show it.

"So you were venting on us." Remus said after a moment's pause.

"Well, when you put it like _that..._"

"Or you figured that you'd pressure either us or Regulus into caving and actually letting you spill. So you thought you couldn't just outright talk to us." Bellua arched an eyebrow.

"Well, I _guess, _but-"

"Or you're just being an all-around prat because you wouldn't confide in us." James grinned widely.

"I-"

"Or said girl," Peter cut in, "Would affect your relationship with either us or Regulus."

_Oh god. _Bellua felt so warm she almost expected Remus to get burned by her touch.

"Okay, okay, I get it." Sirius lifted his hands in defeat. "I've been a jerk, I understand."

"You'd better." James narrowed his eyes, but there was still a slight smile playing around his lips. "Is this meeting adjourned?"

"Heck no." Remus grin mischievously – not a smile he often used. "We still don't know who this mystery girl is."

_Oh god ohgod ohgod ohgod ohgod. _Bellua felt the urge to throw up. Or slap something. Or slap Sirius and then throw up on his shoes. That would probably be a bad idea.

"Well, then you folks can just go on imagining." Sirius said with an air of complete normality. How was he so calm? So guiltless? "Cause that's a secret between me and my ever so volatile emotions."

"Uh...huh." Peter smirked. Bellua wanted desperately to speak but it felt as though someone had cast the _Langlock _jinx on her.

"Yup, that's how crappy love stories work, right? Besides, I'm over her."

Bellua choked on her drink, making everyone stare at her. Remus clapped her on the back, helping her breathe. "R-really?" She stared at him, still coughing a little.

"Yuppers." He grinned. "Now, who's hungry?"

"Everyone, idiot." James smirked. "But don't think you're getting' back smoothly, y'hear? I'm seeing a lot of Truth or Truth games in your future, bud."

"And then there's Dare or Dare." Remus smiled a little, seeming amused by this. "Embarrassment galore. It'll be great."

Sirius gave a mocking salute. "Aye-aye, tri-captains and...captainette."

"Very funny, Black." Bellua said playfully, yet she kept her eyes narrowed. Sirius, who seemed to notice this, gave her another curious glance before turning back to James, smiling.

Bellua dug her fingernails into the table, gritting her teeth, and willed herself to stay quiet.

For now, anyway.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

Two hours later, she was following him. About to corner him. About to confront him.

And damn, she was terrified. Something about Sirius made Bellua slip up on her wry comments, lose whatever she was about to say. She wasn't in love, not with him, not at all. He'd been one of her closest friends for the last, hellish month, and even then he'd been like that. He drove her absolutely insane sometimes, with his laidback demeanor and clever reply to everything she said. But this time, maybe, she could get the upper hand. Convince him to spill. As far as she knew, Sirius had no idea of her awareness of last night's events. He wouldn't have done it otherwise...would he? Just how brash was he?

He was walking towards the wide doors, to detention at Hagrid's, strolling down the hallway without looking back. Narrowing her eyes, Bellua stepped in after him and, to see no one else around, cleared her throat as loudly as possible.

Sirius paused, then turned on his heel and gave the werewolf a calm smile, hooking his thumbs in the pockets of his pants. "Hey, Bells."

"We need to talk." No way was she stopping for pleasantries.

"We already did-"

"No, you talked to me _and _the _Marauders_. I need to talk to you one-on-one."

He shrugged, dropping the bag slung over his shoulder and crossing his arms. "Shoot then."

"Are those seriously your only reasons? For completely abandoning us?"

"I was kind of having family issues, Bell." He frowned slightly.

"So you just went off by yourself. Didn't go to your friends for comfort or advice? There was something holding you back from us."

He worked his jaw, thinking. "I dunno. Guilt, maybe?"

"Or perhaps jealousy?"

He paused. "Say what?"

"This girl." She hesitated, feeling her nerves build up and her voice almost crack. "Who is it?"

"Didn't I already say I'm over her? It doesn't really matter."

"Yeah, so you should have no trouble saying it."

"Why do you care?"

"So you're over her?"

"You didn't answer my question." Sirius arched his eyebrows.

"I asked mine first."

"Eh, I learn from example. Answer my question and I'll answer yours."

"That's a goddamned terrible excuse!"

"Well, it's the only one I'm giving," He growled.

"Oh my God..." She groaned. "Why the hell are you so stubborn?!"

"Why are you so determined to know?"

"Because it's obviously important if you don't want us knowing, otherwise you'd be throwing around the information without a care in the world, like you always do."

"That's a little harsh."

"No, it's just blunt."

"Which means harsh."

"No it doesn't."

"Yes it does."

"No it-oh my God I am _not _getting into one of these with you, got it?"

"Aw, but it was just getting fun."

"Will you just freaking answer me?"

"Will you just relax, Fussy-face?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Because-" She bit back her honest and blunt reply. Because she already knew who this girl was. "Because this is important."

He tilted his head. "What were you about to say?"

"'Because this is important'. So what?" Bellua felt nerves prickling at her. Her stomach seemed to drop, then rise back up to normal only to plummet again.

"No, you hesitated." He crossed his arms over his chest, arching an eyebrow. "Why should I be honest when you're not exactly being truthful?"

"_Me? _Why the hell are you accusing _me _of not being truthful?"

"Because _you're _holding something back that _you _don't want me to know!"

"Hell yeah I am! What did you expect me to think when you sleep-smooched me?!"

He paused, staring at her, shocked. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

She clenched her fists, feeling her eyes sting with angry tears. "It means you sleep-smooched me, you back-handed, arrogant prat! Why the _hell _would you do something like that, huh?! I _pitied _you, I wanted you back, and then you just had to make everything-"

"Shut up!" He roared. "Just shut UP! I'm over it, okay?! I told you it didn't matter, and it doesn't, because I'm over it, like I'm pretty sure I ALREADY SAID! Completely, utterly goddamned DONE."

"...What...what's that supposed to mean?" Stunned by his yelling, she spoke in a surprisingly quiet voice.

"I mean, if you want me to back away, to stay out of your prim and perfect life, then fi-"

"Sirius! That's not what I want!" She put her hands on her hips. "Didn't you hear me? I _miss _you, okay? You're my best friend, stupid!"

He paused, frowning. "...Oh."

"Yeah. _Oh._ Sorry, drama queen, for stopping that big tirade of yours. You still need to explain it."

He shrugged a little. "No I don't. I had a crush on you, that's all there is."

"Uh, hell no! I think there's a little more than that! Like how I'm technically Remus's _girlfriend!_"

He opened his mouth as though to speak, but faltered. "Y...yeah. That too."

"You're going to explain this to him, right?"

"Right."

"All of the truth?"

"Uh...most of it."

"All of it."

"Fifty percent?"

"Higher."

"Ninety?"

"Almost there, bud." She smirked.

He worked his jaw, smiling sheepishly. "Ninety two?"

"Oh my god." She smiled wider, then paused, the corners of her mouth dropping into a slight scowl. "You know, I thought this would be harder."

"Eh, I just ran out of crap to say."

"You, run out of crap to say? I never thought the day would come."

He snorted with amusement, smiling and stepping forward. "Hug, Fussy-face." And wrapped his arms around her, hugging the shorter girl and smirking.

She, to her own surprise, didn't tense up. "If you call me Fussy-Face again, I'll stab your eyes out with my wand."

"Got it, Bellzers McFussyboots."

She sighed in mock exasperation, smiling under the hug. "I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"Nice to hear you finally admitting it, after-...are you sniffing my hair?"

"...It smells like peaches?"

"...What. The hell, Sirius."

"It's purely platonic sniffing, I swear."

"..."

"Are you going to kill me now?"

"Probably."

Sirius just laughed and Bellua smiled, feeling immensely relieved.  
For now, anyway.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

The werewolf and the Prince met in the library.  
"I brought you some stuff. Business and some overdue apologies, you know."

"You didn't have to do that." She smiled faintly, knowing that Severus's budget was limited yet he'd gone forward and done this for her. They sat at one of the tables, and Bellua was quite pleased to see him. It felt like it'd been ages...even though it technically had only been yesterday. Although they really had barely 'seen' each other.

"I did anyway." With a wry smile, he placed three things in front of her – a pack of Chocoballs, a Dungbomb, and a wide vial of green-white, thick liquid.

The Gryffindor's smile widened – sometimes, simple things like chocolate and friends with presents were more comforting than any painkilling potion. "Thanks, Severus. But what are these?" She gestured to the Dungbomb and the vial as she reached for the candy.

Briefly yet noticeably, the Slytherin's gaze darted over Bellua's outstretched arm – more specifically, the clawmarks, scars and a thick bandage covering the pale skin. But his eyes did not linger as he said, "The vial is a sample of the Wolfsbane potion. I have more, and have shortened the required duration to create it from a week to four days. Maybe that's why is ended up being so volatile. Oh, thank you." He smiled as Bellua offered him a Chocoball, which he accepted. After biting into the creamy goodness of chocolate-coated raspberry cream, he added, "We can look at it together – perhaps two pairs of eyes will discover the problem, because I'm stumped. It was more than the Homorphus Charm, I'm sure of it."

"And the Dungbomb? Did you make it?"

"No...I didn't. Some of the Death Eaters are building Dungbombs and other prankish, less just-fun-and-games things...some a _lot _more dangerous than others. But this, it's a bit of a warning from me...there could be a hundred of these coming your way, thought you'd like a look at what you're up against. It's also a thank-you for not bombing my room on your last raid."

"When you say 'raid', that makes it sound pretty malicious."

"Yeah, well, I think the only reason no one's been maimed is because _you're _involved. There were some nasty injuries involved with the Marauders last year." He grimaced.

"I...oh." Seemed to be all she could say. "Yeah. Uh...you have raspberry cream on your chin."

"Oh, really?" He blushed as he wiped off the cream with a finger.

"And Severus...Thanks. Thanks for everything."

"It's no problem." He shrugged, a blush of his own threatening to emerge. "Tell...tell me when you're done looking at the potion, okay? I have to go, I have detention."

"Okay. Can I ask what for?"

"No."

She frowned slightly. "Oh. Okay. I guess that's fair, since I haven't been entirely honest-"

"It has nothing to do with that." He interrupted. "It's just...unimportant."

"Uh-huh." She arched an eyebrow, clearly disbelieving. "Oh, and can I ask you one more thing?"

"Fine."

"What are you up to?"

Severus arched an eyebrow. "Explain."

"The Death Eaters. They've been stirring up a lot of crap and it's sort of important that I know."

The Slytherin looked down, biting his lip. "It's...confidential."

"That doesn't reassure me."

"It wasn't meant to. I'm just saying that I can't tell you."

"You can. You just won't."

His gaze hardened very slightly. "You realize what would happen to me if I started spilling? I'd have Death Eaters on my tail and theyare some people I do _not _want to mess with."

"Well, I don't want to mess with them either but they sure as hell want to mess with _me._ And I thought you were one of them, Serverus."

"I am. They're still not nice to me."

"That's not fair. They've barely got anyone, they should value what few devotees they have." She opened her mouth to speak further when his eyes flickering down and back up caught her eye. "What?"

"They – we – are actually pretty good in numbers."

"What...what's that supposed to mean?" Her eyes narrowed and she braced her legs to stand. "I know for a fact which of the Slytherin are and aren't participating, what do you-" Bellua paused.

Severus frowned a little, almost looking nervous. "What is it?"

"Severus," She looked at him steadily, eyes still narrowed. "How many wizards out there are doing this? This doesn't have anything to do with the Dark Wizards uprising, does it?"

"You're making some really big assumptions here, you realize how offensive I could find this-"

"If it wasn't true?" She interrupted, feeling her temper getting the better of her.

"If I knew you were just edgy about that kind of stuff and are probably not thinking through your words." He replied coolly, his expression darkening slightly.

"I'm thinking it through a lot, Sev. Have you been in touch with people who maybe aren't exactly-"

"_No, _I haven't!" He snapped. "I don't know about the others but _I _haven't! I'm just trying to get through school without having my ass handed to me and hopefully get a goddamned future somewhere, okay? And if that's in the Dark Arts, well, I don't give a crap. Money is money, not all of us have it and all of us need it and I'm sure not getting any help from anyone else."

Bellua was silent for a moment, feeling guilty for not trusting her friend. She looked down for a moment, working her jaw a little and hesitating. "I..."

"Just forget about it." He growled, shoving the chair back so he can stand. "I'm okay with you not trusting me as long as you're willing to admit it, okay?"

"I...I do trust you, Severus."

He narrowed his eyes. "You know that's hard for me to believe, right?"

She bit at the edge of her lip a little, sighing in defeat. "Yeah, I do. But I took the potion yesterday, right?"

"That wasn't really in your control."

"Still took it."

"Still not your control."

"Still...never mind."

He gave a wry smile. "You look into the potion, okay?"

"'Kay, Sev."

"I'll talk to you soon."

"Hopefully. Don't let them push you around, okay?"

"I..." He hesitated, his smile faltering, then returning. "I'll try, I guess. For now, anyway."

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

_"So, where are you today?" Bellua crossed her arms as she stood in the center of the common room._

_It was another several moments before anything stirred, and for a moment she wondered if he really had been injured. Been driven completely insane, unable to harness his abilities to visit her. But if that had happened, wouldn't she simply have a dreamless sleep? No nightmares induced by the Meracuses' attempts to break through, and no visits proving their success? But she was sitting in the room, completely able to move and speak. Someone was coming. She just didn't know who._

_Then the portrait door opened and the gaunt figure of Silas Meracus stepped through. Dressed in prison robes, with a light in his eyes that held so much. Fear. Pain. But most of all...desperation._

_He wanted this even more than her. In his mind, it was his only escape from the deranged lunatic that had once been his beloved, beautiful spouse.  
_Families, _Bellua mused, _sure are weird when insanity is added to the mix.

_Or maybe her life was just doomed to be, as Sirius might have said, 'a new dimension of suck'. It was almost amusing how easily she could imagine him saying that._

_"Oh, there you are." She said carefully. She didn't know how to respond to what he'd done before and any dry remarks wilted on her tongue._

_He tilted his head, smiling hollowly. Any wounds or weakness seemed to have left him...save the look in his eyes. "Here I am."_

_"I didn't think you'd come."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because you were sort of half-dead last I checked?" _

_He arched an eyebrow and gave her that empty smile again. "I've been half dead for a while, dear."_

_"But it still would've taken effort to come here." She tilted her head slightly. "You really think I'm going to help you, don't you? Or that I'm your last chance?"_

_He paused for a moment, working his jaw thoughtfully. "Maybe you are."_

_She narrowed her eyes and snapped, "Okay, just so we're clear, you deserve to be in Azkaban, you know that? It's only the whole mind-torture thing I'm not okay with." _

_"I-"_

_"Locked me in a cellar? Erased my existence? Yeah, I know. But maybe I'm a better person than you. Maybe I can forgive. You think I can forgive you for what you did? Say that what's past is past?"_

_He looked straight at her and said softly, "No."_

_"Well you're wrong, Pops."_

_"What-"_

_"But you're going to have to prove it."_

_He watched her with narrowed eyes. "How?"_

_"Hold up your end of the bargain. Get her out of my head. And I'll get her out of yours. How are you going to go about doing this, hmm? Drive her to the peak of insanity?"_

_He raised an eyebrow. "Killing her would be easier."_

_"Okay, 'Dad', look. You can be crazy all you want. But I'm not okay will killing people."_

_"You said so yourself she's more monster than man. Or woman, in her case."_

_"Yeah, but..." She trailed off. Killing? No. Hell no. She couldn't do that._

_"I'll strike you a deal then, my dear."_

_"Don't call me that."_

_"I'm going to teach you Legilimency, and stop calling you 'dear', apparently. Perhaps your views will have changed by the end of this, hm?"_

_"That 'hm' was real suspicious, 'Dad'."_

_"You say that like I care, darling."_

_She growled softly. "Your eagerness to both piss me off and utterly confuse me in one conversation almost surpass Sirius's."_

_"Ah, Sirius." He gave her an odd smile. "Shall we begin then?"_

_"Shut up."_

_"Fine, fine." He gave a smirk. "For now, anyway."_

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

Dark Wizards were rising and the witch was missing out.

She paced constantly, the chains tightening as she reached the corners of her cell. Impatience, insanity, and exhilaration left her in a panic, desperate for a new purpose, a mindset. Silas was too far to exert her frustration on. But now she had a goal, and that goal was named Voldemort.

This Dark Lord had made it very clear what was going to happen. The Dementors would side with him soon, and she would be free.

But three words crossed her mind, three words she never believed she would want to use.

It was too soon. She couldn't be free just yet.

She needed more time. More time to wreak vengeance. Everything had, _had _to be in place.

And it would be.

It had to be.

It looked, for the first time in a while, that everything would work out.  
For now. Anyway.

~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~

*Looks at bruised Slytherin sitting on the bed* "Did they hit you too hard?"

"Why do you care, Crouch? Since when have you cared about anything besides your own demented little schemes?"

"Well, that's not very polite." *Sits next to him* "They beat on you a lot, don't they?"

"Of course they do, don't act so ignorant!" *Sigh* "And besides, I should've seen this coming. I was just doing Bellua a favor, s'all. I mean, I got them their _oh-so-secret _source, and a whole stack of Dungbombs, right? It's like Avery and Mulciber are trying to take over Bellatrix's position, except with a lot more...you know." *Gestures to battered face* "And why the hell am I even talking to you?"

"Is your nose broken?"

"It was. I fixed it."

"Oh. Good job."

"Okay, Crouch, stop it. I want to know why you're here."

"Can't I be nice to my fellow Death Eater?"

"We all know you're not a Death Eater. The group only accepts sociopathic psychos when they're _not _filthy backstabbers."

"Ouch."

"Besides, I don't get _in _on all the messages people like Dolohov are getting. I don't know what these people have planned, so there's no use winning me over."

"Oh. That wasn't why I wanted to win you over."

"Oh?" *Arches eyebrow*

"No. It was about Bellua Dimid, actually."

*Pause* "Why?"

"Well, I, uh...If you tell I will murder you."

"That's a threat I'm used to."

"Will you swear not to tell anyway?"

"Unless I get paid."

"Will you?"

"I don't know, Crouch. Tell me what it is."

"Not unless you swear. This is serious. Like, Unbreakable Vow serious."

"Don't be insane. I'm not making any of _those._"

"Fine, then, have it your way. It's nothing much, just I...I think I...Uh, well, you know her, don't you?"

*Snort* "No, Mulciber just gave me a black eye because he was bored."

"You're avoiding the topic."

"So what if I am? It's not like I owe you anything."

"I need to make this fast. Please help me out on this, okay? I want...I want to get her attention." *Winces and blushes*

*Stares* "You do not...oh my God. Not sure if you noticed, Crouch, but she's already dating the Marauder, Lupin."

*Is still glaring and blushing* "I'll just get him out of the picture, then."

"Ha, good luck with _that. _Those two aren't idiots, Crouch." *Stands, turns around*

"What? Afraid of getting the Marauders on your bat tail again?"

"Yes. Yes I am. And surprise-surprise, you're not my friend and I don't owe you a thing. And it's my intention that I never will." *Starts to walk away*

"Fine, then. If you want to do it that way. _Snape._"

*Keeps walking*

*Gentle sigh* _"Imperius. _Goodness, you couldn't at least _tried _to see that coming. I should get an award for this lying business, really. Bellua may be alright for a Gryffindor, but certainly not more important than my plans. I need to discover the truth. McGuire told me what she knew, but I'd like more opinions, y'know? So, tell me, Snape...what's all this I hear about a _werewolf?_"

* * *

**Did you expect more Sirius/Bellua smooching!  
WELL TOO BAD SUCKAS!  
My headcanon: Before Azkaban and the war, Sirius was a really fun-loving and goofy kid. That's why he was still retain some of his joke-aroundishness even after twelve years of prison.  
My other headcanon: Barty Crouch Jr. is completely insane. Completely.  
Did you notice all the 'For now, anyway's? THAT'S A FORESHADOW. **

**I'm sorry the chapter may seem boring. It's okay though, because, not-so-terrible spoiler alert: Someone gets punched in the first five sentences of Chapter 15. Don't you fret, them angsts and violence is coming.  
So, bye now.  
~ Shadrilyx**


End file.
